Johann Gottlieb Goldberg

Much of the information concerning Goldberg is questionable. Definitively he was a gifted and talented keyboard musician who could read music well and play with a great deal of facility. What is questionable regards his tutelage and his being the catalyst for Bach being commissioned to write the "Goldberg Variations." It was reported that: 1. Goldberg was a student of J. S. Bach. 2. He was also a student of W. F. Bach. 3. That Keyserlingkt commissioned the keyboard variations by J. S. Bach for the young Goldberg (in 1741 he would have been 13 or 14 years old). There is no argument that Goldberg was more than capable of playing the technical difficulties involved with the variations. The most important position he maintained was perhaps his membership in the private musical establishment of Count von Bruhl, a position he maintained until his death. Goldberg composed cantatas, concertos, sonatas, and polonaises. His style reflects a penchant towards syncopation, strains that were extensive and a love for chromaticism. ~ Keith Johnson