Years

Set to esteemed Australian musician Stephen Emmerson’s reimagining of Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations’ as a dialogue for two pianos, Years is a meditation on the layers of legacy that shape both our past and our future.

Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations’ is universally recognised as a landmark in Western music; a spiritual, intellectual and powerful masterpiece. Emmerson’s counterpoint-rich adaptation will be performed with celebrated Australian pianist Sonya Lifschitz whose “powerful exposition” (The Sydney Morning Herald) of Bach’s work has earned her critical acclaim in Australia and internationally.

Choreographed by Rafael Bonachela, featuring solos from the incredible dancers of Sydney Dance Company, and conceived as an online work, Years delves deep into the essence of movement and musicality.

In partnership with renowned collaborators Bianca Spender (costume) and Clemens Habicht (director),Years sees Bonachela reflect on echoes of the past to find clarity at the heart of a turbulent world.

“'(Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations)…has the mysterious capacity to go on revealing itself without ever divulging the secret at its heart.” - Michael Ignatieff (In notes accompanying the recording of the Goldberg Variations by Andras Schiff (Sony, 1982)).

Don’t miss the free online season of this moving, elegant work from 4 – 6 November 2021.

Online screenings of Years are presented as part of Who Are We Now? The UK/AU Season 2021, by Sydney Dance Company and South East Dance as part of Brighton Digital Festival

Years will be available to watch for 48 hours from the official screening time with the unique link sent by email.

Thursday 4 November 8pm (AEDT)

Friday 5 November 8pm (AEDT)

Friday 5 November 11am (GMT)

Friday 5 November 8pm (GMT)

Saturday 6 November 8pm (AEDT)

With thanks

Artistic Director’s Commissioning Partner 2021 (Years).

Supported by

Years is also generously supported by: Arab Bank Australia, Tony Berg AM and Carol Berg AM, David Mathlin, Jules Maxwell, Rebel Penfold-Russell OAM, Penelope Seidler AM, Matt Shelmerdine, Bianca Spender and Sam McGuinness.

Years is supported by the Australian Government as part of the UK/Australia Season 2021-22

The digital performances of YEARS are presented by South East Dance as part of Brighton Digital Festival.

Sydney Dance Company acknowledges the Gadigal people, the Traditional Owners of the lands on which Years was made. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.

Director: Clemens Habicht

Choreography: Rafael Bonachela

Music: ‘Goldberg Variations’, BVW988, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and adapted by Stephen Emmerson

Musicians: Stephen Emmerson and Sonya Lifschitz

Costume: Bianca Spender

The Music

JS Bach’s timeless masterpiece, ‘Goldberg Variations’, is re-imagined for two pianos by Stephen Emmerson and Sonya Lifschitz. Written for ‘…connoisseurs, for the refreshment of their spirit’, the work conjures up the same sense of awe that comes from watching a sunrise, touching sandstone, or listening to the patterns in the sounds of the rain. The exquisite counterpoint and the transcendent spiritual beauty of Bach’s masterpiece, made poignant and irresistible by the two pianists engaging in a musical dialogue, adds a sheen of pure wonder to the overall musical experience.

Emmerson’s stunning transcription needs no defence against the purists: far from being merely static museum pieces, these timeless works maintain their relevance through the ongoing, dynamic traditions of performance. It is through a performer’s engagement with a work that its meanings are continually renegotiated in contemporary terms.