Concertlezing Anna Enquist & Ivo Janssen

A woman studies Bach's 'Goldberg Variations' on the piano in an attempt to cope with the sorrow of losing her daughter. In playing, she tries to bring fingers, notes, head and feelings under control - just as Bach did when he composed his variations after the death of his son Bernhard. For the woman, playing the piano seems in the first place to be a drug. Little by little, the music awakens memories and associations within her, gradually giving us a penetrating picture of the girl as she grows up and of the relationship between mother and daughter. This is the storyline of the impressive and moving novel 'Contrapunt' by the Dutch writer Anna Enquist. She herself calls it "a small monument" to her daughter, who was killed in a blind-spot accident in 2001. The novel is tightly constructed on the lines of the structure of the 'Goldberg Variations': an introductory chapter ('Aria'), thirty short episodes (the variations) and a coda ('Aria da capo'). Each variation sketches a scene from the life of the girl that is appropriate to the atmosphere and character of the music. In this concert and reading, pianist Ivo Janssen plays the 'Goldberg Variations' without Bach's prescribed repeats. Extracts from the book are read out at the appropriate moments, thus combining words and music.