Beethoven Variations for Piano – Volume I - Piano Solo (Henle HN 143)

Variations on both popular and original themes were a kind of “fashion accessory” during the days of Viennese classicism, and Beethoven also made his contribution to this genre; to be sure, financial reasons played a role here, as fashion articles sold well. Yet little by little, the principles and formal layout of the variation form assumed a central meaning for Beethoven. The first volume of the Henle Urtext edition containing Beethoven’s collected piano variations opens with the first work that was published under his name, the “Dressler Variations” WoO 63, written in 1782, and extends to the Variations on a Melody from Peter Winter’s opera Das unterbrochene Opferfest from the year 1799. Apart from WoO 63 and a further cycle (WoO 65), Beethoven had all of these pieces initially printed in Vienna, but without any opus numbers. Yet they are little masterpieces overflowing with seductive harmonies, rich sonorities, layers of finely elaborated tunes and the sheer enjoyment of cultivated music-making.

Composer: Ludwig Van Beethoven
Editor: Joseph Schmidt-Görg
Format: Henle Urtext Edition, hardcover
Pages: 122
Henle number: HN 143

Contents

• 9 Piano Variations on a March by Dressler (first version) WoO 63
• 6 Piano Variations on the Swiss Song “Es hätt e’ Buur e’ Töchterli” WoO 64
• 24 Piano Variations on "Venni Amore" by Righini WoO 65
• 13 Piano Variations on "Es war einmal ein alter Mann" by Ditters von Dittersdorf WoO 66
• 12 Piano Variations on the "Minuet à la Viganò" de Haibel WoO 68
• 9 Piano Variations on "Quant' è più bello" from La Molinara by Paisiello A major WoO 69
• 6 Piano Variations on "Nel cor più non mi sento" by Paisiello WoO 70
• 12 Piano Variations on a Russian Dance by Wranitzky WoO 71
• 8 Piano Variations on "Mich brennt ein heißes Fieber" by Grétry WoO 72
• 10 Piano Variations on "La stessa, la stessissima" by Salieri WoO 73
• 7 Piano Variations on "Kind, willst du ruhig schlafen" by Winter WoO 75