Gunel Mirzayeva performs Goldberg Variations

Hear Bach’s Goldberg Variations as never before in this innovative performance by multi-award-winning Azerbaijani pianist Gunel Mirzayeva. The Guildhall alumna, a Bach specialist, performs each variation with embellished repeats, expanding the limits of stylistic possibilities and underlining new musical principles in order to shine new light on one of the world’s most important keyboard works.

Gunel says: “As a classical pianist, I have been performing a wide range of Bach’s keyboard repertoire for a long period of time and have been motivated by passion in exploring new avenues of interpretation. Recently, I have completed exploring the fundamental aesthetics of Bach’s monumental Goldberg Variations.

I formulated new embellishment and re-compositional methods in my interpretation of this work: first playing the original directions as edited in its published BÄRENREITER URTEXT edition, followed by restating each movement when playing the repeats or by embellishing the original movements all together. I also re-discovered the improvisatory formulation of the Baroque music, which C.P.E. Bach described in his book Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments (1753).

I strongly believe that there are several possible aspects that explain the importance of the Variations on Goldberg. One of them is to provide more dimensions in intensifying role of the pianist/performer and give a deeper understanding of Bach’s compositional writing through continuous experimentation with the text."