Skip to page content

About this Piece

Another composer much attracted to the music of Bach was Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936), who arranged and adapted earlier music throughout his career. In 1930 he arranged Bach's majestic Passacaglia in C minor, BWV 582, continuous variations of astonishing variety over a repeating bass line thundered out at the very beginning.

- John Henken is the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Director of Publications.