Kit Armstrong – Bach’s Goldberg Variations and its predecessors

Synopsis

“Armstrong’s phenomenal recital was so exceptional that every attempt to describe it falls short” (NRC). When Kit Armstrong performed at Amsterdam’s hallowed Concertgebouw for the first time, he mesmerized his audience with Bach’s monumental Goldberg Variations. By combining them with earlier polyphonic variation masterpieces by William Byrd, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck and John Bull, in the present program he is shedding a new light on Bach’s masterpiece. When Kit Armstrong was only 14, the Los Angeles-born musical prodigy overcame his mentor Alfred Brendel’s reluctance to take on pupils. Brendel said: “He played so beautifully that I thought to myself, ‘I have to make time for him.’” Soon Armstrong was winning international prizes both as pianist and as composer and was appearing at some of the world’s foremost venues.

Additional Info

• No: A865500280000
• Composer: J.S. Bach, William Byrd, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck,
• Artists: Kit Armstrong
• Production year: 2016
• Run time: 02:06:00
• Director: Dick Kuijs
• Producers: UNITEL, Concertgebouw, in cooperation with Serie Meesterpianisten and Riaskoff Concert Management
• Format: HDTV 16:9