A three-variation sample from my 2019 recording of the Goldberg Variations. The simple, enchanting Canon at the Sixth, followed by a lively character dance; and finally one of the famous hand-crossing toccatas.
One of the advantages of performing this piece on the piano is the special layering you can get for the separate voices; in Variation 18, the Canon at the Sixth especially the parts are a joy to separate, and the dialogue easy to hear.
Variation 19 is a dance in three time that illustrates Bach’s diverse characters - it makes sense as a slower, elegant court dance, or a life-affirming folk dance. I tried to capture both feelings, using the repeats.
Variation 20 is one that is much more difficult to play on piano than the harpsichord, since you lose the space of two keyboards. The right hand goes down, the left hand goes up, literally passing over each other, and then they reverse. Along with Variation 11 probably the most challenging of the toccata variations, in my opinion.