{"id":11693,"date":"2022-05-30T11:31:13","date_gmt":"2022-05-30T11:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianostreet.com\/blog\/?p=11693"},"modified":"2022-05-31T11:06:55","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T11:06:55","slug":"breaking-the-goldberg-wall-interview-with-klara-wurtz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianostreet.com\/blog\/albums\/breaking-the-goldberg-wall-interview-with-klara-wurtz-11693\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking the Goldberg Wall – Interview with Kl\u00e1ra W\u00fcrtz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kl\u00e1ra W\u00fcrtz has lived with The Goldberg Variations<\/a> in the back of her head for years but never took the step putting it on her repertoire. But a combination of the pandemic along with an eye-opening musician colleauge\u2019s organ version recording made her change her mind. Piano Street talked to W\u00fcrtz about this monumental work and what inspired her decide to record it for PIANO Classics.<\/span><\/p>\n

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When chosen Gramophone\u2019s Pick of the Month (May 2022)<\/a>, the review sums up: \u201cW\u00fcrtz\u2019s performances have disarming freshness which throws our listening emphases away from her and back on to the music.\u201d The Hungarian-born pianist Kl\u00e1ra W\u00fcrtz is based in The Netherlands and is best known for her numerous recordings on Brilliant Classics.
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\nPatrick Jovell: J.S. Bach\u2019s Goldberg Variations is a landmark in western art music and every professional classical pianist has a reference to the Aria and 30 variations, in theory and practice. Kl\u00e1ra, can you tell us about your relationship to this masterpiece and why you decided to record it?<\/em><\/p>\n

Kl\u00e1ra W\u00fcrtz: No doubt, Goldberg is very present in the lives of many a pianist, I am not an exception. But the truth is; I admired this monumental work from a safe distance for decades. My first audio encounter with the piece happened to be with the famous first Glenn Gould recording in my teens. Gould was one of the favourite pianists of my teacher Zolt\u00e1n Kocsis, and he obviously influenced my musical taste at that time. This perfect, \u201dGouldian\u201d and hypnotic way of performing this work somehow blocked my desire to play it myself. It became almost unapproachable. Anyway, I felt \u201dmy call\u201d was in the Classical and Romantic era, so I invested in learning this repertoire. Nevertheless, there came a moment of inspiration regarding the Goldberg Variations as a consequence of the Corona pandemic in late 2019. In 2018 I recorded Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff Trios with two great Russian musicians: Dmtri Makhtin, violinist and Alexander Kniazev, cellist. I really enjoyed playing with them, and the recording went effortless and beautifully. The cellist happens to be a great organ player too and he gave me his recording of the Goldberg Variations – on the organ. I simply loved it: its registration, the boundless fantasy of the playing opened new doors in my perception of this marvelous composition. I felt inspired and decided to work on it.<\/p>\n

And then we were struck by the pandemic. Studying this piece day in day and out gave me enormous focus, dedication and consolation. As if all uncertainty and anguish disappeared and what remained was pure music. And the soul of a great master telling you through his notes that finally, all will be alright. Almost no other composition occupied my mind during that period and I felt the need to record it as a result of two intensive years living with it.<\/p>\n

PJ: One interesting question covering the span of interpretations is the one on tempi. There are several ways to go when choosing the \u201dright\u201d tempo for a variation. Can you elaborate on this aspect?<\/em><\/p>\n

KW: Of course, we will never really know what is the “right” tempo for each movement. For me the Goldberg is one big landscape where the variations are part of a vast monumental structure. It has a theatrical dramaturgy where each episode follows the previous with a certain necessity and determination. To be honest I am pretty much relying on instinct on how I experience these dances, canons, overture, toccatas, recitatives, quodlibet and fugues as part of one continuous narrative. So the tempi are chosen on the basis of their place within the story, which unfolds in my mind during the performance.<\/p>\n

PJ: How are your ideas on the repeats in the variations, as they suggest various solutions of both articulation and ornamentation – or can we say interpretational attitude?<\/em><\/p>\n

KW: I don\u2019t feel the necessity of ornamentation so much, as if Bach\u2019s music stands poor without it\u2026 I am not so keen on embellishments, all the clever\/knowledgeable\/witty\/brilliant\/creative ornamentations divert the listener from the pure substance and message of the music. Repeats are part of the structure and as such they are essential to the scope and magnitude of the work. Moreover, a repeat offers the possibility to highlight certain details, or shed another light on the character and emotional impact of the music.<\/p>\n

Listen to a sample of variation 5:<\/em><\/p>\n