Ravinia 2019, Issue 7, Week 13

JORY VINIKOUR, harpsichord Recognized as one of the outstanding harpsi- chordists of his generation, Jory Vinikour was born in Chicago and studied in Paris with Hu- guette Dreyfus and Kenneth Gilbert on a Ful- bright scholarship. Top prizes in the International Harpsichord Competitions of Warsaw (1993) and the Prague Spring Festival (1994) brought him public attention, and he has since been invited to festivals and concert series around of the world. A concerto soloist with a repertoire ranging from Bach to Poulenc to Nyman, Vinikour has per- formed as soloist with such leading ensembles as the Rotterdam and Radio France Philharmonics, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ensemble Or- chestral de Paris, MDR and Cape Town Sympho- ny Orchestras, Royal Scottish National Orches- tra, and Lausanne, Netherlands, and Moscow Chamber Orchestras. He was featured on a re- cording of Frank Martin’s Petite Symphonie Con- certante with the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra in 2005. Vinikour also collaborates on chamber music extensively, with such artists as sopranos Annick Massis and Dorothea Röschmann, mez- zo-sopranos Hélène Delavault, Vivica Genaux, and Magdalena Kozena, contralto Marijana Mi- janovic, and tenor Rolando Villazón. Addition- ally, he has accompanied mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter in recitals in Sweden, Norway, Spain, and Paris and at La Scala in Milan, and he recorded a disc of English and Italian music of the 17th century, entitled Music for a While , with lutenist Jakob Lindberg for Deutsche Grammophon in 2005. Vinikour is an exponent of contemporary repertoire for the harpsichord as well, having premiered works written for him by such composers as Harold Meltzer, Frédéric Durieux, Stephen Blumberg, Patricia Morehead, and Graham Lynch. He has also presented sever- al 20th century concerti, including Cyril Scott’s 1937 Harpsichord Concerto, which he prepared and edited for Novello editions. Sono Luminus released his recording of contemporary Ameri- can harpsichord works in 2013. Vinikour is often called upon by opera houses and festivals such as Paris Opera, Netherlands Opera, Salzburg Fes- tival, Teatro Real de Madrid, Baden-Baden, and Glyndebourne for both Baroque/Classical and contemporary works. Jory Vinikour is making his Ravinia debut. JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750) Aria mit  Veränderungen , BWV 88 (“Goldberg Variations”) Bach solidified another musical connection with Dresden, the electoral seat and political center of Saxony, with the composition of his Aria mit 0 Veränderungen and its subsequent publica- tion in 1741. He probably intended this volume as the fourth part of his Clavierübung (Keyboard Exercise), although the title page of the first printed edition does not make this sequential connection completely clear. Bach issued this set of variations through the Nürnberg printer Balthasar Schmid, who had published the three previous parts of Clavierübung . Manuscript copies of the variations circulated within Bach’s circle; the composer himself made corrections and emendations on some sources. The background narrative to the Aria with  Diverse Variations originated in an early bi- ographical sketch and inventory of Bach’s works by Johann Nikolaus Forkel. Hermann Carl, Count von Keyserlingk, the former Russian am- bassador to the Saxon electoral court and an oc- casional visitor to Leipzig, requested a new work for the young keyboard player in his service, Jo- hann Gottlieb Goldberg (1727–56). “The count was often sickly and then had sleepless nights,” according to Forkel. “At these times, Goldberg, who lived in the house with him, had to pass the night in an adjoining room to play something to him when he could not sleep.” The count heard Bach’s variations regularly, but never tired of the music. He affectionately re- ferred to them as “my variations.” Keyserlingk rewarded Bach with a golden goblet filled with Louis d’or coins. More important, the count lat- er assisted the Leipzig Kantor in his successful efforts to become Kapellmeister (an honorary title) attached to the Saxon court, a title proud- ly advertised on the title page of the published score. These “Goldberg Variations” for two-manual harpsichord evolved over a period of several years. The Aria theme dates at least from 1725, when Bach entered it into the Clavier-Büchlein for his second wife, Anna Magdalena Bach. Like several Leipzig-period collections, the Aria mit 0 Veränderungen displays organizational plan- ning at many levels. The entire set is subdivided into two large sections: the first half encompass- es the aria and 15 variations; the second half in- cludes the final 15 variations, the first of which (No. 16) employs French overture form. Bach also grouped the 30 variations into small clusters of three variations, each containing a free variation, a duet (in most instances), and a canon. Each subsequent canon brings imita- tion at a wider interval: unison, second, third, and so on. The final “canon” is a quodlibet [a form of medley roughly equivalent to “potpour- ris,” parodies, or mashups] containing two folk melodies—“Ich bin so lang nicht bei dir g’west” (I Have Been Away from You for So Long) and “Kraut und Rüben” (Cabbage and Beets)—pos- sibly sung at Bach family gatherings. The paired variations preceding the canons fol- low a typical sequence: one-manual free varia- tion followed by two-manual duet. Exceptions to this pattern occur every 12 variations. For example, Nos. 1 and 2 are both free variations for single manual. Two pairs, Nos. 13 and 14 and Nos. 25 and 26, comprise a free variation and duet, both for two manuals. Also enrich- ing this complex harpsichord collection are the hand-crossing and other technical demands placed upon the performer. –Program notes © 2019 Todd E. Sullivan Johann Sebastian Bach by J.J. Ihle (1717–23) Count Hermann Karl von Keyserlingk by Michael Christoph Emanuel Hagelgans AUGUST 26 – SEPTEMBER 2, 2019 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 103