My Goldberg Variations project is done, for now. Recordings have been made for each track, and the collection has been mastered by a kind friend. I've listened to the whole set, and made some small adjustments. Eventually I'll make a few CDs for friends who are especially interested. But this was not particularly intended for wide distribution, so that will be the extent of it.
The main thing I've learned through this experience is what a beautiful work this is. There is something to love on every page, something to linger over, enjoying again and again. While many players tend to take some of the variations at very fast tempos, probably for the virtuoso show-off effect, there are wonders to be discovered by taking them more slowly, and the result is not necessarily less interesting.
I've gotten to know my limitations, and those of the keyboard I'm playing. The keyboard worked much better for this project than I expected; while there were a few places where I had to do some careful thinking about tempo and dynamics, my ideas about how the work would sound could usually be realized.I didn't always reach my goals. There are places where my hands did not produce what my ear wanted to hear. For now, I'm continuing to work on the set, still hoping someday to be able to play from start to finish. This was the "lite" version, without repeats; someday I'd love to be able to play the whole thing with all the repeats taken. But for now, this recording will do.
