Mørkefestivalen 26’: Bach’s Goldberg Variations

Mathias Halvorsen plays Bach’s Goldberg Variations. It takes place in complete darkness. This has several advantages. The pianist does not have to see the audience, the audience does not have to see either the pianist or each other, and all parties get a better opportunity to enjoy themselves with Bach. The Goldberg Variations consist of an aria, 30 variations and the same aria once more. Along the way there are canons, dances, virtuosity, spiritual gravity, and quite a few things that are rather hard to explain. The work was published in 1741 and has since proved remarkably difficult to surpass, even several hundred years later. Mathias Halvorsen is a pianist and composer, based in Reykjavík. He plays self-arranged Puccini operas without singers and has written the world’s first opera based on Agatha Christie. Over his long life he has danced, screamed and played piano on stages such as the Berliner Philharmonie, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. He has also recorded two piano concertos for one hand, together with Kringkastingsorkestret and conductor Otto Tausk. For this he was nominated for the Spellemannprisen in 2025. LightsOut is a group that plays exclusively in total darkness, based on the relatively simple thought that when you remove everything there is to look at, there is more left to listen to. There will therefore be no lighting design. Only Bach. This concert is part of Mørkefestivalen 2026, organised by Boyes Musikkompani.

• Lights Out
• Mathias Halvorsen

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