Sheet music
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria
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| Provider / edition | Recorded price | Visit provider |
|---|---|---|
Virtual Sheet Music Affiliate partner
Original listing detailsPiano · Solo · Harpsichord | $6.99 Date unavailable | View |
Musicnotes Retailer
Original listing detailsScore | $5.00 April 2026 | View |
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Sheet Music Direct Retailer
Original listing detailsPiano | Check price | View |
| Kunst der Fuge Free source | Free options | View |
| Sheet Music Archive Free source | Free options | View |
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| Piano Street Free source | Free options | View |
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About this piece
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria is a work by Johann Sebastian Bach. Editions in our index are scored for piano, organ, guitar and harpsichord. We track 220 editions for sale priced between $3.95 and $321.95, from Virtual Sheet Music, Musicnotes, Sheet Music Plus and Great Scores. 69 public-domain archives publish it free of charge, including Sheet Music Archive, Kunst der Fuge and Piano Street.
The Aria, and the story about the insomniac count
The Aria opens and closes the Goldberg Variations, published in 1741 as the fourth part of Bach's Clavier-Übung. It is a sarabande in G major, and the thirty variations that follow are built not on its melody but on its bass line — which is why the Aria can return unchanged at the end and sound completely different.
The Aria was not new in 1741. It appears in the 1725 Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, some sixteen years earlier.
The familiar story — that Count Kaiserling commissioned the work to be played by his harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg during sleepless nights — comes from Johann Nikolaus Forkel's 1802 biography, written more than fifty years after Bach's death. No contemporary source supports it, the published edition carries no dedication, and Goldberg would have been about fourteen. It is worth knowing as the reason for the nickname rather than as history.
On the page: the Aria is frequently sold and taught on its own, and at that length it is approachable. The ornaments are written out in Bach's own text and are not optional decoration — they are the melody.
Published in
This piece appears in 90 published collections.
Common questions
- How much does Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria sheet music cost?
- Prices run from $3.95 to $321.95 across 220 retailers. Prices change; the figures shown are the most recent we recorded.
- Is Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria available for free?
- Yes. 69 archives in our index publish it at no cost, typically as a public-domain scan or engraving. Free editions vary in quality and edition; a paid edition may be easier to read or better fingered.
- What instruments is Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria arranged for?
- The editions we track are scored for piano, organ, guitar, harpsichord, cello, flute, horn, clarinet, trumpet, tuba, recorder, saxophone and voice tenor. Specific arrangements listed include Piano, Solo, Harpsichord, Voice and Trumpet.
Same composer