Xenia Pestova Bennett  piano
Karlheinz Essl  live electronics

Bach’s Goldberg Variations are a cornerstone of the keyboard repertoire, yet we rarely question how this piece is presented. Austrian composer Karlheinz Essl and pianist Xenia Pestova Bennett (Associate Professor in Performance at the University of Nottingham) offer a refreshing take on this seminal classic in Gold.Berg.Werk. Essl’s new version for piano and live electronics features gorgeous time-stretched harmonies, manipulated in real time and then played back through spatialized loudspeakers in between Bach’s original piano variations.

Bringing together Baroque and contemporary sound worlds, Gold.Berg.Werk creates a sense of space and grandeur, with no two performances being the same. This magical performance invites you to join the performers on a journey of discovery, opening and blossoming into a whole new universe of sound.

This afternoon concert with a difference lasts an hour and can be enjoyed as a prelude to tea, coffee and cake or a proper afternoon tea, with a selection of sandwiches and cakes. Or, you can go for the full lunch option before the concert with a choice of 2-courses. Whichever you decide, this an enjoyably different way to experience one of classical music’s greatest treasures.

Tickets: £10 (with post-concert tea/coffee and cake)
£15 (with post-concert afternoon tea)
£20 (with pre-concert lunch)

It is like opening another floor in the labyrinth of Bach’s imagination and the possibilities of the Goldbergs  – Tom Service, BBC Radio 3 Music Matters

It’s really great hearing Xenia Pestova Bennett playing Bach, because she brings such immense poise to it! – Kate Molleson, BBC Radio 3 (about Gold.Berg.Werk on the New Music Show)