(Dis)Arrangements 2: Goldberg Fever

A recent check disclosed 228 available recordings of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Most are for a single keyboard as intended, but there are also arrangements and transcriptions. Here’s a random scattering of BWV 988 arrangements and digressions.

String Theory 5: Sometimes with Piano

First heard ages ago in concert, Hartke’s violin duo Oh Them Rats is Mean in My Kitchen (1985) made a lasting impression

Schoenberg’s “Mis-Handel-ing” and Other Curiosities

We dwell rather on a few monstrous creations by composers who should have known better. Step at your own risk behind a dingy sideshow curtain to gawk at a shelf of specimens in dirty jars.

Walt’s Ratatouille 2.

Diddling with Bach has been old hat for more than a century, and lately I’ve sighted Goldbergs from accordion, brass quintet, cathedral organ, jazz trio, overdubbed guitars, and several string ensembles.