Following on from the Partitas, the Goldberg Variations, and the Well-Tempered Clavier, Kenneth Weiss immersed himself in the Art of Fugue during the summer of 2019.

“To take time from a world of distraction, to be fully present in an alternate world of majesty, is a gift accessible to everyone through Bach’s Art of Fugue. In his last composition, Bach took his unsurpassed skill of polyphonic writing to even greater heights. Limiting himself to a single theme and spinning an increasingly complex series of contrapuntal variations he created a monument for the ages.

“The theme itself, which retains its original essence while undergoing variations, can be seen as representing our constantly evolving life force. That the final fugue, in which he writes his own name B-A-C-H (b flat, a, c, b natural) as a musical subject, is unfinished, adds to the powerful experience of the work.

“As we listen, the creative spirit that lives within each one of us is joined with Bach’s force and spirit - unfinished and eternal.”

Kenneth Weiss