The Diabelli Variations

In 1819 a music publisher named Anton Diabelli composed and then sent around a waltz to the prominent composers of the time and asked them to compose variations on this waltz for publication. You may say that it was the first composite album ever made! Diabelli received contributions from Schubert, Listz, and others but it was Beethoven who took the trivial waltz and expanded it into what Alfred Brendel calls "the greatest of all piano works."

At first, Beethoven put the waltz away and considered it mere childs play. However, by 1819 he had composed not just one but, rather, 23 variations. The work was put away until 1823 when the final number of variations is as it stands today: 33.

The work is brilliant in far too many ways then I can discuss here. But particularly brilliant was in the way that Beethoven seemed to mock and yet expound on the original theme. For example, in variation 21 he greatly exaggerates the major C chords in the right hand — as if parodying the weaknesses of the original theme. There is humor, too, such as in variation 22 which is surprisingly similar to the Leporello's opening number from Don Giovanni. The variation perfectly captures the humorous servant-follower that Leporello was to Don Giovanni in Mozart's opera.

I will finish by noting that those who give a careful listening to Beethoven's final piano sonata (Op. 111) will be pleasantly surprised by the conclusion that is given here in the Diabelli Variations. It's as if these variations are an extension of those final piano sonatas.

I highly recommend the Pollini and Brendel recordings of the Diabelli Variations.

What Happened To Version 4?

Winamp 1 was good. Winamp 2 was godly. Winamp 3 blew so many goats that I quickly hurled it out the window and went back to Winamp 2.

And today I learned that Winamp 5 was just released. The logic? I don't know. Maybe 4 wasn't good enough or they added their previous releases (2+3=5, kids!). At any rate, I've only used it this morning but Winamp 5 works well, fixes the dreaded playlist problems in Winamp 3, and is damn sexy.

So what are you waiting for? Go get it. Don't tell me you're going to listen to Beethoven with Windows Media Player?!?

Happy Birthday Mr. Beethoven

In honor of Bonn's favorite son, posts today will focus on my recommendations of Beethoven recordings, focusing primarily on the later works. Not surprisingly, listening to these works will also make you a better person.

The depth of Beethoven's final output is staggering. In the time period between 1815 until his death in 1827 he published the 10th Violin Sonata, the last 3 piano sonatas (op. 109-111), the Diabelli Variations, the late string quartets (op. 127, 130-133, 135), and the Missa Solemnis. Oh, and did I mention that there was a choral symphony buried somewhere there as well?

Stay tuned for a day filled with pithy analysis and music. For now, listen to the first movement of the Op. 109 piano sonata and bask in its glory.