This is a list of commercial or professional recordings of Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations, organized chronologically. The list is sortable by clicking on the small arrows at the top of each column.
| Artist | Date | Place | Recording | Instrument and repeats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| circa 1928 | Welte piano rolls | piano | |||
| November 1933 | EMI 5 6720 ADD | harpsichord | |||
| January–March 1942 | RCA CD GD 87841 | piano | |||
| 1945 | New York City | RCA | harpsichord | ||
| 1947 | mono Allegro / Everest | piano | |||
| 1952 | mono Haydn Society | harpsichord | |||
| 1953 | stereo Vanguard (the first of three recordings by this artist) | harpsichord | |||
| June 1953 | Nixa WLP 5241, mono | piano, 49 minutes | |||
| January 1954 | Philips, mono | Ammer harpsichord | |||
| June 21, 1954 | from CBC broadcast, mono | piano, no repeats. | |||
| June 10, 1955 | Sony Classical 52 594 ADD; Goldberg Variations | piano (Steinway D-274), no repeats. | |||
| January 1956 | Telefunken | harpsichord | |||
| March 28, 1956 | Masonic Temple, Brooklyn, New York | Bach Guild / Vanguard | harpsichord | ||
| 1957 | London, Abbey Road Studios | HMV / Capitol, 2 CD Philips "Great pianists of the century" | piano | ||
| 1959 | Sony Classical 52685 ADD | piano | |||
| 1959 | Deutsche Grammophon 439 673-2 ADD | harpsichord | |||
| June 1960 – March 1961 | Hamburg | EMI 4 89166 ADD | harpsichord | ||
| 1963 | UK | Thomas Goff harpsichord | |||
| June 1963 | Westminster WMS 1004, stereo | piano, 54 minutes | |||
| 1965 | Teldec (Das Alte Werk) | harpsichord | |||
| March 1965 | New York City | RCA (the first of 5 recordings by this artist when he was 17) | piano | ||
| January 1968 | Moscow | Philips 456 994-2 "Great pianists of the century" | piano | ||
| July 1969 | Deutsche Grammophon 439 978-2 ADD | piano | |||
| July 1969 | Sony SBK 48173 ADD | piano | |||
| 1970 | Archiv Produktion POCA-9085 | harpsichord | |||
| 1971 | Columbia M 30538 | harpsichord | |||
| May 1973 | East-West, ISI Productions, Atlantic New Age Bach: The Goldberg Variations ADD | "Kurzweil 250 Digital Synthesizer" | |||
| 1974 | Nuova Era | piano, 74 minutes | |||
| c. 1975 | Golden Crest 4167 | piano | |||
| 1976 | EMI / Angel | harpsichord | |||
| August 1976 | Deutsche Harmonia Mundi GD77149 ADD (his third and last recording) | harpsichord | |||
| September 23, 1976 | location unknown | EMI 7630622 | 1728 Christian Zell harpsichord | ||
| 1977 | LP Saphir Intercord INT 120.886 | Cembalo, harpsichord | |||
| 1979 | Moscow | Melodiya C10-13091 (2LP), Relief CR861006 (1CD), Victor VICC40126/7 (2CD). Nikolayeva's 1st recording. | piano | ||
| 1979 or 1984 | Most probably Hamburg | DG, Reissue 1988 1 CD VAI Audio | piano | ||
| 1980 | Archiv Produktion 415 130-2 ADD | harpsichord | |||
| 1981 | EMI 5 74952 2 | piano | |||
| April/May 1981 | originally CBS Masterworks MK 37779, now Sony Classical 52619 DDD (his second and last studio recording of the Goldbergs) | piano (Yamaha CF II), No repeats. | |||
| 30 January 1982 | Freiburg, Germany (live) | SWF 75/76 (the second of his recordings of the work) | piano | ||
| 27 February 1982 | Leningrad (live) | Melodiya | piano | ||
| 1983 | Decca 417 116-2 (1 CD) | All repeats | |||
| April 1983 | Aarhus, Denmark | Classico Classcd 416 (1CD). Nikolayeva's 2nd recording. | piano | ||
| Ross, Scott | April 1985 | live at Tabaret Hall, University of Ottawa | Erato / Fonovox | harpsichord | |
| Pi-hsien, Chen[1] | October 1985 | Naxos 8.550078 DDD | piano | ||
| 12–15 March 1986 | Saint Paul, Minnesota (live) | ProArte CDD-331 (the third of his recordings of the work) | piano | ||
| April 1986 | Mas de Vert, Arles | 1 CD Harmonia Mundi | harpsichord | ||
| 26–28 June 1986 | EMI HMV 5 86666 DDD | piano | |||
| 10 November 1986 | St. John’s, Smith Square, London | BBC 6483445 (1CD). Nikolayeva's 3rd recording. | piano | ||
| 9 September 1987 | Berwald Hall, Stockholm | Bluebell ABCD043 (1CD). Nikolayeva's 4th recording. | piano | ||
| c.1987 | Belgrade Broadcasting, PGP 2330172 | piano | |||
| November 1987 | Dorian 90110 | organ | |||
| 1987/1988 | Thorofon DDD | chromatic button accordion | |||
| Ross, Scott | January 1988 | Salle Blanqui, Paris | EMI / Virgin Veritas | harpsichord | |
| 1988 | ERATO 45326-2 DDD | harpsichord | |||
| January 1989 | ECM Records 839 622-2 DDD; J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations | harpsichord | |||
| February 1989 | Polskie Nagrania PNCD 055 DDD | piano | |||
| June 1989 | Tactus harpsichord http://www.bach-cantatas.com/NVD/BWV988-Vartolo.htm http://www.jsbach.org/vartologoldbergvariations.html | ||||
| October 12, 1989 | Live recording, Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires | Erato ER2-45468 | piano | ||
| July 1991 | EMI 7 54209 DDD | harpsichord | |||
| February 1991 | Netherlands | Rondo 001 DDD | piano | ||
| Jaccottet, Christiane[2] | 1991 | Pilz 160127 | harpsichord, no repeats | ||
| 1991 | Collins 70032-2 (2 CDs) | harpsichord, all repeats | |||
| 1991 | Virgin 5 61555 (2 CDs) DDD | harpsichord | |||
| October 26, 1991 | live at the Moscow Conservatory | Musical Heritage Society 513260T DDD | piano, all repeats | ||
| January 23, 1992 | Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, Hampstead, London | Hyperion Records CDA66589. Nikolayeva's 5th recording. | piano | ||
| June 1992 | Opus 111 OPS 30–84 DDD (the first of his two recordings) | harpsichord | |||
| September 1992 | L'Eglise de Saint Hippolyte (Tarn), France | Astrée Auvidis E 8745 (her second recording of this work). Re-released on Naïve, 2012 | 1751 Hemsch harpsichord | ||
| January 16–17, 1993 | Ermitage ERM 412-2 DDD | piano | |||
| September 13–14, 1993 | ALBA ABCD103 | piano | |||
| 1993 | Deutsche Grammophon 435 436-2 DDD | piano | |||
| October 1993 | orchestra | ||||
| October 1993 | Bayreuth | CHARADE; CHA 3012 DDD | harpsichord | ||
| December 1, 1993 | King Records (Japan) KICC-110 | piano | |||
| June 1–3, 1994 | New York City | BMG Classics 09026 68188 2 DDD (the fourth of his recordings of the work) | piano | ||
| June 10–13, 1994 | Denon Records #78961 DDD (Lifschitz was 17 at time of recording.) | piano | |||
| September 27–29, 1994 | originally L'Oiseau-Lyre, now Decca 475 7080 DDD | harpsichord, all repeats | |||
| 1994 | Arte Nova Catalog #: 340110 | piano, all repeats except Aria da capo | |||
| January 15, 1995 | Ongaku Records 024-107 DDD | piano, all repeats | |||
| Cooper, Kenneth (harpsichordist) | 1995 | Berkshire Bach Society | harpsichord | ||
| 1995 | Connoisseur Society | piano | |||
| 1996 | Biddulph flw001 DDD | piano | |||
| 1996 | Sony SK 60257 DDD | two guitars (overdubbed) | |||
| 1996 | d'Note Classics DND 1013- ADD | piano, all repeats | |||
| February, June and July 1997 | BIS BIS-CD-310819 DDD | harpsichord All repeats | |||
| 1997 | EJ-01WZ DDD | solo guitar | |||
| 1997 | LT 0056-2 131 | piano | |||
| 18–19 November 1997 | Snape Maltings Concert Hall | Private Label – Produced by Erik Smith with fewer than 30 edits to the entire master | piano, all repeats except for minor variations | ||
| Februari 1998 | Void | piano | |||
| March 1998 | 2 CD DG (the seventh and last recording of the Goldbergs by this artist) | piano | |||
| 1998 | Harmonia Mundi 901666 | piano | |||
| 1998 | VLS Records VLC 0598 | organ | |||
| 1999 | Mandala Records DDD | piano | |||
| 1999 | RCA Red Seal DDD (Echo Award 2002) | brass quintet | |||
| Martin Beaver, David Harding, and Bryan Epperson | 1999 | CBC Studios, Toronto, Ontario | CBC Musica Viva MVCD 1130 | string trio | |
| 1999 | Festeburgkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany | Hänssler | piano | ||
| 20 April, 8/9 July 1999 | Brilliant Classics 92284 DDD | harpsichord | |||
| 28 August-1 September 1999 | Henry Wood Hall, London | Hyperion Records CDA 67305 | piano | ||
| June 1999 | Johanniterkirche, Groß Eichsen, Germany | Berlin Classics 001716 DDD | piano | ||
| September 1999 | Saint-Irénée, Québec, Canada | 1 CD Dorian | transcription for string orchestra | ||
| December 1999 | Middelburg Synagogue, The Netherlands | Columns Classics 99564 DDD | string | ||
| July 2000 | Sony Classical SK/SM 89243 DDD | piano (Steinway D-274) | |||
| 2000 | LMO-Records UTC 8697408800030 DDD | piano | |||
| 2000 | Accord ACD 081-2 | harpsichord | |||
| 2000 | RCA 63610 | horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba | |||
| 2000 | Telarc CD-83479 DDD | jazz trio | |||
| 2000 | Recorded in New York, Italy and Germany October 1999 – January 2000 | Winter & Winter 910 054 The Goldberg Variations | rock, dub, electro, jazz, ragtime, blues, avant-garde, valse, Christmas music, soul, tango, mambo, gospel, bebop, experimental, drum & bass, samba, klezmer, bossa nova, etc. | ||
| 2000 | Zefiro Recordings ZR 103 (2 CDs) | lute harpsichord | |||
| 2001 | Alpha 14 (2 CDs) with BWV 1087 | harpsichord | |||
| 2001 | electronic wind instrument[3] [4] | ||||
| 2001 | Delos Records | harpsichord All repeats | |||
| 2001 | Amphion records 20126 DDD | accordion | |||
| 2001 | Accord ACD 098 with BWV 622 | piano | |||
| February 2002 | La Chaux-de-Fonds (CH) | Decca 476 282 DDD | piano | ||
| October 2002 | ECM DDD (his second recording; made live in concert) | piano | |||
| 2002 | Simax PSC 1192 | harpsichord | |||
| 2002 | Scandinavian Classics 220590 -205 DDD | piano | |||
| 2003 | Apex (Warner Classics) 0927 49979 2 DDD | piano | |||
| 2003 | Mirare MIR 9945 DDD (his second recording) | harpsichord | |||
| March 2004 | Sony BMG SK93101 DDD | piano | |||
| 2004 | ALBA ABCD 191 | accordion | |||
| 2004 | Mollterz | organ | |||
| 2004 | ABC Classics – Discovery 476 3529 | harpsichord | |||
| Trio Zilliacus Persson Raitinen[5] | 2004 | Caprice CAP-21695 | string trio | ||
| 2005 | Naxos 8.557268 DDD | piano | |||
| 2005 | Tomato 2126 | piano | |||
| 2005 | Tacet 070CD (2 CD) DDD | string trio | |||
| 2005 | Arta F101362 (2 CD) | harpsichord, clavichords | |||
| 8–11 March 2005 | Harmonia Mundi HMU 907425.26, with BWV 1087 DDD | harpsichord | |||
| 2006 | MPC | marimba | |||
| 2006 | Analekta | harpsichord | |||
| Gould, Glenn (with Zenph Re-Performance) | May 2007 | Sony Classics, 88697-03350-2 | piano | ||
| Autumm 2007 | Brilliant Classics | organ | |||
| 2007 | Telarc CD-80692 DDD | piano | |||
| April 28, 2007 | Centaur Records, Inc. CRC 2927 DDD | piano | |||
| July 17–19, 2007 | BAYER 100 326 (Qualiton) | piano | |||
| September 30 – October 1, 2007 | Warner Classics 2564-68393 | piano | |||
| 2008 | Lontano (Warner Classics) 2568 69199-6 DDD | harp | |||
| 2008 | Deutsche Grammophon 477 8097 DDD | harp | |||
| 2008 | Ivory Classics 77005 | piano | |||
| 2008 | Centaur CRC 2899 DDD | harpsichord | |||
| 2008 | EMI | piano | |||
| July 22, 2008 | King International, Inc., Tokyo, Japan KKC 29 DDD; Schepkin's second recording of this work | piano | |||
| 2009 | Berlin | Harmonia mundi HMU 902058 | harpsichord | ||
| 2009 | London | Meridian | piano | ||
| Dec. 6, 2007, Published 2009 | Basel | MHMC Budapest | piano | ||
| 2010 | Sacile (PN), Italy | Dynamic CDS-659 | piano | ||
| 2010 | Toronto, Canada | Niv Classical | piano | ||
| 2010 | New York City | MSR Classics MS-1167 | piano | ||
| 2010 | Suffolk, England | Chandos 0780 | harpsichord | ||
| 2010 | Virgin Classics | piano | |||
| 2010 | Henry Wood Hall, London | piano | |||
| Shemer, David | 2011 | Christ Church, Jerusalem | Aria | harpsichord | |
| Fretwork | 2011 | [?] | HMU907560 | viol consort | |
| 2011 | Honens 21794 | piano | |||
| 2011 | Palais Montcalm, Québec City | ATMA | piano | ||
| Gurning, Alexander | 2011 | Flagey Studio 1, Brussels | Avanti | piano | |
| Tepfer, Dan | 2011 | Sunnyside | jazz piano | ||
| Tsalka, Michael | December 1 & 2, 2012 | Roxy Studio, Berlin, Germany | paladino music | clavichords | |
| Worms, Marcel | 2012 | Zeeuwse Concertzaal Middelburg, Netherlands | Zefir | piano | |
| Perrotta, Maria | 2012 | Decca | piano | ||
| 2012 | Teldex Studio, Berlin | piano (Bösendorfer 290 Imperial)[6] | |||
| Garnati Ensemble | 2012 | Auditorio del C.C.R. Fray Luis De Leon, Guadarrama (Madrid) | Sony Music 88725474372 | arranged for string trio by Yuval Gotlibovich | |
| Magalhães, Luís and Schumann, Nina | 2012 | Endler Hall, Stellenbosch University, South Africa | Two Pianists | arrangement for two pianos by Rheinberger/Reger | |
| Dec. 2012 | The Chapel of Pembroke College, Cambridge | Stone Records | organ | ||
| Jan. 2013 | piano (Steinway) | ||||
| Duo Melisande | 2013 | Toulouse | Paraty | transcribed by Benedetto Montebello for 2 guitars, modified by the performers | |
| Kawamura, Sachiko | 2013 | St. Bartholomew's, Brighton | Claudio | piano | |
| Zhu, Xiao-Mei | 2014 | St. Thomas Church, Leipzig | Accentus | piano (video DVD) | |
| March 2014 | Deutschlandfunk Kammermusiksaal, Köln, Germany | Ondine ODE 1273-2 | piano | ||
| Dahl, Carsten | 2014 (recorded over 10 years) | Kæv Studio, Copenhagen | Tiger Music 1902350Tiger Music 1902138 | prepared piano | |
| Villalba, Miquel | 2014 | Girona Auditori, Spain | Aglae Musica | piano | |
| Dubreil, Pascal | 2014 | Église de Notre-Dame de l'Assomption, Basse-Bodeux | Ramée RAM-1404 | harpsichord | |
| Hewitt, Angela | 2015 | Christuskirche, Firlstraße, Berlin-Oberschöneweide | Hyperion | piano (second recording) | |
| Tharaud, Alexander | 2015 | Aix en Provence – conservatoire Darius Milhaud | Erato | piano | |
| Sims, Lori | 2015 | Dalton Center Recital Hall, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI | Two Pianists | piano | |
| Levit, Igor | 2015 | Funkhaus Nalepastrasse, Berlin | Sony | piano | |
| Muller, Jean | 2015 | Conservatoire de la ville de Luxembourg | Hanssler HC17059 | piano | |
| 2016 | Palau de la Música, Valencia, Spain | piano (Steinway D) | |||
| Camerata RCO | 2016 | BarcaNova | string trio | ||
| 2016 | Deutsche Grammophon GmbH | harpsichord | |||
| 2016 | Nimbus NI5946 | harpsichord | |||
| Schornsheim, Christine | 2016 | Capriccio C5286 | harpsichord | ||
| 2016 (7–9 Nov.), released Feb. 2017 | Teldex Studio, Berlin | Warner Classics – Parlophone 0190295880187 | piano | ||
| Mazzocchin, Giovanni[7] | 2016 | Saletta acustica 'Eric James', Pove del Grappa | OnClassical OC17042B | piano | |
| De Maria, Pietro[8] | 2016 | Decca | piano | ||
| Yilmaz, Kemal Cem[9] | 2016 | Audite | piano | ||
| La Compagnie Pochette | 2016 | Alba | string trio | ||
| Belder, Pieter-Jan | 2017 | Brilliant Classics 95471BR | harpsichord | ||
| Kamerkoor PA'Dam | 2017 | Cobra | Re-composition for choir & baroque ensemble by Gustavo Trujillo | ||
| Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini | 2017 | Naive | period strings and continuo | ||
| Martin Heini | 2017 | St. Katharina Parish Church, Horw, Switzerland | Guild | organ | |
| 12 November 2017 | St. Paul, Minnesota (live) | Vivace VTV-8808 (the fifth and last of his recordings of the work) | piano | ||
| Ji (Ji-Yong)[10] | 2018 | Warner Classics | piano | ||
| Rainwater, Anne | December 14, 2018 | Oakland, California | piano | ||
| Lang Lang | September 2020 | Live recording at Thomaskirche, Leipzig | Deutsche Grammophon | piano, all repeats observed (simultaneous studio & live recordings) | |
| Kolesnikov, Pavel | rel. Nov 2020rec. Dec 2019 | London | Hyperion | piano | |
| Mazzocchin, Giovanni[11] | 2021 | Saletta acustica 'Eric James', Pove del Grappa | OnClassical OC21116B | piano | |
| April 2021 | Erato 9029650811 | harpsichord, all repeats | |||
| October 2023 | Deutsche Grammophon 00028948645534 | piano | |||
| May 2024 | Regent Records REGCD568 | piano | |||
Without recording date – To be inserted in the list