“Celebrated Air” on the Piano
A while ago I went to a concert that featured a Mozart Piano concerto with soloist David Fray. I mentioned then that his encore was a piece by Johannn Sebastian Bach, arranged for piano. I thought I’d post a performance of the same piece today.
Originally the second movement “Air” from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3, this piece became known as the Air on the G string when it was arranged for solo violin and orchestra, by August Wilhelmj, which involved transposing it down from D Major to C Major so that the violin part could be played entirely on the lowest of the four strings. It’s also sometimes called the (and sometimes “Celebrated Air”, which is more appropriate when it is played on anything other than a violin. The piano version performed by David Fray was arranged by Alexander Siloti and I think it’s very beautiful, based on a beautifully simple bass. Bach’s keyboard pieces often have a left-hand part which is interesting on its own. You can also see hear why jazz musician’s like Bach so much; the left hand provides such a steady but rich foundation for improvisation with the right hand.
Anyway, here is a nice performance of the same piece, at a gently swinging tempo, not unlike a slow blues, by Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa.
One of the Youtube commenters calls this version “melancholy”, which I don’t agree with at all! Whatever it is, it’s a nice way to spend 5 or 6 minutes relaxing in between lectures.
In the Dark 
October 1, 2025 at 10:07 am
Thinking of your point about Bach’s left-hand parts having a particular interest, I recently came across a really original idea. A pianist called Dan Tepfer decided to remake the Goldberg Variations with parity inversion, so that high notes become low and vice versa. Thus the LH now becomes the treble line and commands attention in a way that it initially did not. The results are fascinating: they often sound like something that Bach might well have written. Sometimes the effect is just a little odd, but still stimulating.
Tepfer is an interesting character. I had the honour of lecturing him in astrophysics in 2001/2, although I didn’t then know of his musical talents. In 2011 he issued a CD of the Goldbergs where he added jazz variations that grew subtly out of the standard material. He writes well about his Bach inversion project on his blog (https://dantepfer.com/blog/?p=1355), and the inverted Goldbergs can be heard on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUzNnspxG1f7AjeMgZ_1nE0D6TH9zrH9R).
October 1, 2025 at 10:20 am
I actually have a CD by Dan Tepfer recorded with saxophonist Lee Konitz. I think Alan Heavens pointed him out to me. I’ve never met him but he seems a very interesting guy!
When listening to piano music I often find myself trying to focus on the left hand to get a better idea of what’s going on harmonically. It doesn’t always work.
Many (most) keyboard compositions by Bach aren’t really right hand with left hand accompaniment, but a sort of partnership. This is especially the case for piece written for organ or harpsichord or some other instrument with more than one manual.
October 1, 2025 at 11:03 pm
The harpsichord solo in the first movement of Bach’s 5th Brandenburg Concerto really swings. As does the entire first movement of the 6th.
October 1, 2025 at 12:10 pm
ps. Thinking about it, this piano arrangement of Air on the G string must have been influenced by the “Aria” that sets off the Goldberg variations. It’s very similar in mood and style.
October 1, 2025 at 12:27 pm
If you want something else influenced by that same bass structure, try “a Chloris” by Reynaldo Hahn. Many versions of this exquisite song out there, but for me no-one captures it so well as Phiippe Jaroussky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE7nAU2I_OE
October 1, 2025 at 10:54 pm
Not to mention Whiter Shade of Pale.