“CLEAR VOICING, ELOQUENT PHRASING AND A WIDE RANGE OF COLOR AND DYNAMICS” – NY TIMES
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PIUS CHEUNG
MARIMBA
MONDAY, JUNE 2, 2025 • 7:30 pm
Goldberg Variations
Venue TBA
The New York Times calls Pius Cheung’s Goldberg Variations “... a stylish, deeply expressive interpretation notable for its clear voicing, eloquent phrasing and wide range of color and dynamics.
THIS PERFORMANCE OF THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS IS MADE POSSIBLE THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF ROBIN MCCOY
DATE
Monday, June 2, 2025, 7:30 pm
Doors open at 7:00 pm
TICKETS
General Admission: $25
30&Under General Admission: $15
Under 18: Free
VENUE
TBA
THE ARIA
The basis of the Goldberg Variations is its bass line. Its first eight notes have been a familiar formula since no later than the time of Monteverdi, and, as the ostinato bass, were popular throughout the West for variation works.
Bach’s soul-enhancing variations
Composed for harpsichord with two manuals, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations stands at the pinnacle of keyboard composition and Baroque variation technique. Bach’s conception of the work was to provide the listener with a gemüths-ergetzende (soul-enhancing) effect. Bach blends a wide array of techniques and musical styles—including arabesques, Baroque dances, and a French overture—that take the listener on spirit-lifting journey. For Bach, the spiritual effect of music was rooted in the natural world. Like others in the Baroque era, he believed that the same numerical relationships are found in musical intervals as in astronomy and nature. So, from the bassline of a graceful aria, Bach developed 30 variations, divided into ten groups of three: two free variations followed by a canon (a round).
In the first canon, the two voices start on the same note. In each subsequent canon, the imitative voice is set at a progressively wider interval. Then, rather than use an expected canon in the 30th and final variation, Bach deploys a quodlibet, which is a humorous composition that combines different popular melodies in counterpoint. Bach’s Quodlibet uses popular two folk songs of the day. He then closes the work with the original aria. Having traveled through Bach’s contrapuntal variations, the aria re-emerges in a new light.
The Goldberg Variations are one of the few of Bach’s works to be published during his lifetime (1742). The long-accepted story of how the variations came to be composed were based on an early biography of Bach by Johann Nikolaus Forkel. Forkel wrote his biography more than 60 years after the supposed events, and in recent years, scholars have questioned its accuracy. The identity of the original author of the aria itself is also a point of disagreement. But whatever Bach’s purpose was for composing it, the Goldberg Variations is yet another prime example of Bach’s brilliant ability to use mathematical concepts to create masterful works of art that can sometimes challenge the mind, but always feed the soul.
FESTIVAL EVENTS
THE ARTIST
Hailed by The New York Times as “deeply expressive” for his groundbreaking recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations on solo marimba, Pius Cheung has presented solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and National Concert Hall in Taipei, Kyoto Arts Center (Japan).
Since his debut album of the Goldberg Variations, he has released two more albums of music by Bach: Cellos Suites, and Lute Suites; as well as an album of his own compositions, Symphonic Poem. He has also recorded all the percussion works of renowned composer, Bright Sheng, including his marimba concerto Colours of Crimson with the Hong Kong Philharmonic.
An inspiring teacher to young percussionists, Mr. Cheung frequently serves as a competition judge at national and international competitions, and presents masterclasses at such renowned institutions as the Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Amsterdam Conservatory, Paris Conservatory, Berklee Valencia, Toho Gakuen (Japan), and Beijing Central Conservatory.
A native of Hong Kong, Mr. Cheung moved to Vancouver at the age of 12. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, his Artist Diploma from The Boston Conservatory, and his Doctorate from the University of Michigan. Mr. Cheung is currently a Professor and Chair of the Percussion Area at the University of Oregon.
Pius Cheung endorses Yamaha, Zildjian, Remo, and Innovative Percussion, which produces his signature mallet series.
ABOUT “THREADS”
“Threads” is dedicated to weaving together Johann Sebastian Bach’s far-reaching influence in the musical world, both past and present. This exciting new series features:
- Performances of Bach’s music with non-traditional instruments
- Works by other classical music composers—and bluegrass, jazz, pop, or rock composers and musicians—that rely on Bach’s compositional techniques;
- Music written by contemporary composers as modern interpretations of or homages to Baroque musical conventions.