Zhu Xiao-Mei - J. S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

�'In this work', says Zhu Xiao-Mei, 'Bach gave musical expression to life in all of its infinite facets'. The Chinese �pianist�s name is inextricably linked to that of Johann Sebastian Bach. For Zhu Xiao-Mei the special quality of the �Goldberg Variations lies in the fact that all human emotions and feelings find expression here. 'I love them above all else, each day a little more, and I have always wanted to share this love with others...' Since her first pioneering recording of the Goldberg Variations more than twenty years ago, Zhu Xiao-Mei has played the work several hundred times at recitals all over the world. Through the encounter with her audiences she has evolved a new vision of the work, which she is now presenting to listeners in the form of�this new recording. 'It is the cyclical character of the work that I believe affects listeners the most. It begins and ends in the �same way. And when we again hear the Aria, we have the impression that we have understood something. It is about life and death. The Chinese will quote Lao Tzu: �The return is the movement of Tao�. Christians will talk about eternal life. It is also about the idea that there is no ending. And so there is hope'.