Bach: The Goldberg Variations is the 1955 debut album of the legendary pianist Glenn Gould. It launched Gould's career as a renowned international pianist, and became one of the most well-known piano recordings. Sales were "astonishing" for a classical album: it was reported to have sold 40,000 copies by 1960, and had sold more than 100,000 by the time of Gould's death in 1982. At the time of the album's release, Bach's Goldberg Variations, a set of 30 contrapuntal variations beginning and ending with an aria, was outside the standard piano repertoire, having been recorded on the instrument only a few times before, either on small labels or unreleased. The work was considered esoteric and technically demanding, requiring awkward hand crossing in various places when played on a piano. Gould's album both established the Goldberg Variations within the contemporary classical repertoire and made him an internationally famous pianist overnight.