The most important work among the organ compositions of Bach, who himself was a renowned organist and master.

In the form of a passacaglia, an 8-bar theme is majestically played by the pedal solo at the beginning of the piece, followed by 20 successive contrapuntal variations based on it. These variations are truly a showcase of Bach's compositional method, and the continuously unfolding musical ideas captivate the listener. After the 20th variation, this ambitious work by Bach transitions directly into a fugue, whose theme is the first four bars of the passacaglia's subject. By concluding with a freely modulating fugue, the piece is brilliantly liberated from the monotony typical of a standard passacaglia.

Eugen d'Albert (1864-1932) was a pianist and composer considered Liszt's finest pupil after the early death of his senior fellow student, Carl Tausig, and later in his life, he also became a teacher to the young Wilhelm Backhaus. Although his own compositions are rarely performed today, here he has transcribed Bach's magnificent organ work, originally with pedal keyboard, to the piano with extreme fidelity and care, demonstrating his mastery as a pianist.