BY KIRSTEN BOLTON
For ArtSpring
Canadian pianist Sarah Hagen performs a virtuoso program this Sunday, April 6 at 2:30 p.m., showcasing J.S. Bach’s formidable Goldberg Variations.
It is part of an ongoing celebration of the release of her recording of the masterwork, her fourth of her critically-acclaimed and award-winning albums.
Cherished by many, the Goldberg Variations are emblematic of keyboard virtuosity, rich expression and hardcore classical interpretation. Hagen’s interpretations have been described as “outstandingly inventive” (University of Waterloo Gazette) with an approach that “combines unfettered joy, wide awake with wonder, requisite pedagogy and the ability to make the instrument bend to her will […] Something to absolutely die for!” (Whole Note Magazine).
Consisting of an opening aria and then 30 different variations on it, the Goldberg Variations — named after its first performer Johann Gottlieb Goldberg and published in 1741 — is said to be Bach’s most popular keyboard work and covers so much musical ground, the piece feels epic.
For those who may not be as familiar with the music, the aria was used with dramatic effect to introduce Hannibal Lecter’s cultured intelligence from his jail cell in The Silence of the Lambs. In The English Patient, the nurse plays Goldberg’s first variation from the shelled monastery to evoke comfort, nostalgia and humanity before being interrupted by the soldier sweeping for mines — such is the emotional range and nuance of Bach’s compositions.
From the opening aria to its 30 variations, classical listeners are confronted with their need to define, categorize, and classify what they’re hearing in a joyful work that defies being pigeon-holed. Hagen will offer a Glenn Gould performance and short introduction to this marvellous and intense piece before playing the full work.
Hagen has been awarded Artist of the Year by both the Ontario (2017) and B.C. Touring Councils (2015), toured across Canada and Europe, and twice played New York City’s Carnegie Hall. She has been heard nationally on CBC Radio 2’s In Concert, completed five residencies at the Banff Centre for the Arts, and enjoyed two terms there as collaborative pianist.
During her years on Vancouver Island, Hagen founded nine concert series, curating each one individually and inviting artists from across Canada and around the world to share the stage with her.
In addition to writing wine reviews and matching wine to music for her blog “Artist Wines: Uncorking musician-priced cellar secrets,” she tours a one-woman musical comedy show called “Perk Up, Pianist!” of which the Edmonton Journal wrote, “Her comic timing is as solid as her musical meter.”
Exclusive to ArtSpring, for the first time, Hagen has paired a white, red and sparkling recommendation to match the mood of three of the variations. Sponsored by Voyage Liquor Merchants, the wines will be served at the concert. Hagen’s CDs will be available for sale, as well as art prints she created for Goldberg Variations titled Oneness.
Tickets are $35 ($5 for youth), with $15 Theatre Angel Program tickets on request in person or by phone while they last.