St John’s Smith Square, London, SW1P 3HA

Johann Gottlieb Goldberg was a virtuoso harpsichordist employed by Hermann Karl von Keyserlingk, the Russian ambassador to Saxony, who commissioned a set of variations from Bach to combat his sleeplessness. Goldberg was their first performer. As well as being a student of Bach, Goldberg was a composer in his own right, and we play one of his works – a trio sonata that was thought for a time to be one of Bach’s compositions. We also play Silas Wollston’s arrangement of Canons from the Goldberg variations, and two of J.S. Bach’s great works that feature the flute: Brandenburg 5, and the B minor orchestral suite.

>>> As a precaution against spreading Covid-19, this concert has been cancelled

The music

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): Suite in B minor for flute and strings, BWV 1067

Johann Sebastian Bach: Canons from the Goldberg Variations, BWV 1087

Johann Gottlieb Goldberg (1727–56): Trio sonata no. 4 in C major [formerly BWV 1037]

Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg concerto no. 5 in D major, BWV 1050

The musicians

Marion Moonen flute, Nicolette Moonen violin, Oliver Webber violin, Anna Curzon viola, Kinga Gáborjáni cello, Silas Wollston harpsichord