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Mar 2010
27m 40s

Bach's Goldberg Variations

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.

Bach wrote his Goldberg Variations for harpsichord in the 1740s, but today it's performed by pianists all over the world. People describe the place these pieces have in their lives, including a neuroscientist from New York, pianist Angela Hewitt, a father driving his family through the night in the Australian Outback, and a woman from Oregon whose life was transformed, perhaps even saved, by this music.

Produced by Sarah Conkey

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.

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