It began with Glenn Gould. And a desire to see how this music was part of people's daily life.
"30 Bach" refers to the 30 variations, or small pieces, that comprise Bach's celebrated keyboard work, the "Goldberg Variations". These variations will lead us to different places in the world, to different emotional landscapes, to diverse stories about how the piece has figured, sometimes centrally, in the lives of others.
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I've loved music since I was a baby bouncing up and down in the car to Paul Simon's "Rhythm of the Saints." I grew up in Palo Alto, California, and studied classical piano from the age of 5 through the Royal Conservatory of Music, in Toronto.
I didn't know how much I valued the social side of music until I started playing chamber music in college, and singing in an a cappella group. Since college, I've continued to sing, to play piano, and to study music.
I wanted to do this podcast for two reasons. First, I had been mystified by the Goldberg Variations for years, and wanted to understand them better, both from a historical a musical perspective. Second, I wanted to meet musicians and listeners who cared about the music as much as I did, and find out why.
When not playing music, you might find me reading non-fiction, hiking, surfing, or playing with my dog, Huckleberry. I studied history and statistics at Stanford University, and am now a third-year law student at Harvard Law School. But music is what inspires me most.
David read and revised the script for every episode, and offered feedback at the critical writing and editing stages of the project. His keen intuition for how to tell a story was vital.
David is the CEO and founder of VitalBriefing, a global digital media company whose international network of expert journalists create market intelligence for private and public sector clients across dozens of industries. A dual US-Luxembourg citizen, he is a prizewinning journalist, serial digital media entrepreneur, and online content pioneer. David worked for more than two decades as a journalist and foreign correspondent for various American newspapers and magazines, lastly as South America Bureau Chief of Newsweek, before joining AOL Europe as vice president of content & programming. He frequently advises young entrepreneurs and has served on various boards of directors.
There are many people who have made this podcast possible. First and foremost are my parents, Megan McCaslin and Richard Yankwich, who listened to every episode and gave detailed feedback. Thanks also to all those who contributed music but who are not featured as interviewees, including Susan Starr, Hugo Kitano, Sietze de Vries, James Kibbie, and the Netherlands Bach Society. Thanks to Miranda Shafer for podcast production advice, and to Akshay Subramaniam for audio equipment. A huge thanks to others who gave feedback along the way, including Makulumy Alexander-Hills, Peter Forgie, and my lovely partner in life, Gina Chang.
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