Passacaglia

The Passacaglia, Goldschmidt’s earliest extant orchestral work, was awarded the prestigious Mendelssohn Prize in 1925 and given its first performance under Erich Kleiber in Berlin the following year. The technical assurance and confident handling of a large orchestra are remarkable for a composer in his early twenties while the ground bass was to become a favourite form, inspiring some of his most memorable moments. At seven minutes, the Passacaglia is an ideal concert-opener and its aura of brooding melancholy could effectively precede a Mahler or Shostakovich symphony.

"This Passacaglia is a piece for the repertory... Over a chromatic, F-based theme, 15 times repeated, arresting inventions are set out in sharp colours with a young master's command of textures, counterpoints, contrasts, and progression."
The Observer