Beethoven: Diabelli: Variations

On this CD:

1. Variations for piano in C major on a waltz by Diabelli ("Diabelli Variations"), Op. 120
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by William Kinderman

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: 1 Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: 2. Adagio
Piano Sonata No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: 3. Menuetto. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: 4. Prestissimo
Piano Sonata No. 2 In A, Op. 2 No. 2: 1. Allegro vivace
Piano Sonata No. 2 In A, Op. 2 No. 2: 2. Largo appassionato
Piano Sonata No. 2 In A, Op. 2 No. 2: 3. Scherzo. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No. 2 In A, Op. 2 No. 2: 4. Rondo. Grazioso
Piano Sonata No. 5 In C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1: 1. Allegro molto e con brio
Piano Sonata No. 5 In C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1: 2. Adagio molto
Piano Sonata No. 5 In C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1: 3. Finale. Prestissimo
Piano Sonata No. 19 In G Minor, Op. 49 No. 1: 1. Andante
Piano Sonata No. 19 In G Minor, Op. 49 No. 1: 2. Rondo. Allegro

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.3 In C, Op.2 No.3: 1. Allegro con brio
Piano Sonata No.3 In C, Op.2 No.3: 2. Adagio
Piano Sonata No.3 In C, Op.2 No.3: 3. Scherzo. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.3 In C, Op.2 No.3: 4. Allegro assai
Piano Sonata No.4 In E Flat, Op.7: 1. Allegro molto e con brio
Piano Sonata No.4 In E Flat, Op.7: 2. Largo, con gran espressione
Piano Sonata No.4 In E Flat, Op.7: 3. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.4 In E Flat, Op.7: 4. Rondo. Poco allegretto e grazioso
6 Piano Veriations In F On An Original Theme, Op.34

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.6 In F, Op.10 No.2: 1. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.6 In F, Op.10 No.2: 2. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No.6 In F, Op.10 No.2: 3. Presto
Piano Sonata No.7 In D, Op.10 No.3: 1. Presto
Piano Sonata No.7 In D, Op.10 No.3: 2. Largo e mesto
Piano Sonata No.7 In D, Op.10 No.3: 3. Menuetto. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.7 In D, Op.10 No.3: 4. Rondo. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.8 in C minor, Op.13 'Pathetique': 1. Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio
Piano Sonata No.8 in C minor, Op.13 'Pathetique': 2. Adagio cantabile
Piano Sonata No.8 in C minor, Op.13 'Pathetique': 3. Rondo. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.9 In E, Op.14 No.2: 1. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.9 In E, Op.14 No.2: 2. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No.9 In E, Op.14 No.2: 3. Rondo. Allegro comodo

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.10 In G, Op.14 No.2: 1. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.10 In G, Op.14 No.2: 2. Andante
Piano Sonata No.10 In G, Op.14 No.2: 3. Scherzo. Allegro assai
Piano Sonata No.11 In B Falt, Op.22: 1. Allegro con brio
Piano Sonata No.11 In B Falt, Op.22: 2. Adagio con molta espressione
Piano Sonata No.11 In B Falt, Op.22: 3. Minuetto
Piano Sonata No.11 In B Falt, Op.22: 4. Rondo. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No.12 In A Flat, Op.26: 1. Andante con Variazioni
Piano Sonata No.12 In A Flat, Op.26: 2. Scherzo. Allegro molto
Piano Sonata No.12 In A Flat, Op.26: 3. Marcia Funebre sulla morte d'un Eroe
Piano Sonata No.12 In A Flat, Op.26: 4. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.25 In G, Op.79: 1. Presto alla tedesca
Piano Sonata No.25 In G, Op.79: 2. Andante
Piano Sonata No.25 In G, Op.79: 3. Vivace

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.13 In E Flat, Op.27 No.1: 1. Andante - Allegro - Tempo I
Piano Sonata No.13 In E Flat, Op.27 No.1: 2. Allegro molto e vivace
Piano Sonata No.13 In E Flat, Op.27 No.1: 3. Adagio con espressione
Piano Sonata No.13 In E Flat, Op.27 No.1: 4. Allegro vivace - Tempo I - Presto
Piano Sonata No.14 In C Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight': 1. Adagio sostenuto
Piano Sonata No.14 In C Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight': 2. Allegrettro
Piano Sonata No.14 In C Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight': 3. Presto agitato
Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 'Pastorale': 1. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 'Pastorale': 2. Andante
Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 'Pastorale': 3. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 'Pastorale': 4. Rondo. Allegro ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No. 22 In F, Op.54: 1. In Tempo d'un Menuetto
Piano Sonata No. 22 In F, Op.54: 2. Allegretto

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.16 In G, Op.31 No.1: 1. Allegro vivace
Piano Sonata No.16 In G, Op.31 No.1: 2. Adagio grazioso
Piano Sonata No.16 In G, Op.31 No.1: 3. Rondo. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No.17 In D Minor, Op.31 No.2 'Tempest': 1. Largo - Allegro
Piano Sonata No.17 In D Minor, Op.31 No.2 'Tempest': 2. Adagio
Piano Sonata No.17 In D Minor, Op.31 No.2 'Tempest': 3. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No.18 In E Flat, Op.31 No.3: 1. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.18 In E Flat, Op.31 No.3: 2. Scherzo. Alllegretto vivace
Piano Sonata No.18 In E Flat, Op.31 No.3: 3. Menuetto. Moderato e grazioso
Piano Sonata No.18 In E Flat, Op.31 No.3: 4. Presto con fuoco

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.21 In C, Op.53 'Waldstein': 1. Allegro con brio
Piano Sonata No.21 In C, Op.53 'Waldstein': 2. Introduzione. Adagio molto - Rondo. Allegretto moderato - Prestissimo
15 Piano Variations And Fugue In E Flat, Op.35 'Eroica' Variations: Inroduzione col Basso del Tema. Allegretto vivace
15 Piano Variations And Fugue In E Flat, Op.35 'Eroica' Variations: Variazioni I-XV
15 Piano Variations And Fugue In E Flat, Op.35 'Eroica' Variations: Finale. Alla Fuga. Allegro con brio - Andante con moto
32 Piano Variations In C Minor On An Original Theme, WoO 80
Rondo In G, Op.51 No.2

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.23 In F Minor, Op.57 'Appassionata': 1. Allegro assai
Piano Sonata No.23 In F Minor, Op.57 'Appassionata': 2. Andante con moto
Piano Sonata No.23 In F Minor, Op.57 'Appassionata': 3. Allegro ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No.24 In F Sharp, Op.78 'For Therese': 1. Adagio cantabile - Allegro ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No.24 In F Sharp, Op.78 'For Therese': 2. Allegro vivace
Piano Sonata No.26 In E Flat, Op.81a 'Les adieux': 1. Das Lebewohl. Adagio - Allegro
Piano Sonata No.26 In E Flat, Op.81a 'Les adieux': 2. Abwesenheit. Andante espressivo
Piano Sonata No.26 In E Flat, Op.81a 'Les adieux': 3. Das Wiedersehn. Vivacissimamente
Piano Sonata No.27 In E Minor, Op.90: 1. Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
Piano Sonata No.27 In E Minor, Op.90: 2. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen
Piano Sonata No.20 In G, Op.49 No.2: 1. Allegro, ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No.20 In G, Op.49 No.2: 2. Tempo di Menuetto

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.28 In A, Op.101: 1. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung. Allegretto, ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No.28 In A, Op.101: 2. Lebhaft. Marschmassig. Vivace alla Marcia
Piano Sonata No.28 In A, Op.101: 3. Langsam, und sehnsuchtsvoll. Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto
Piano Sonata No.28 In A, Op.101: 4. Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.29 In B Flat, Op.106 'Hammerklavier': 1. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.29 In B Flat, Op.106 'Hammerklavier': 2 Scherzo. Assai vivace - Presto - Prestissimo - Tempo I
Piano Sonata No.29 In B Flat, Op.106 'Hammerklavier': 3. Adagio sostenuto. Appassionato e con molto sentimento
Piano Sonata No.29 In B Flat, Op.106 'Hammerklavier': 4. Largo - Allegro risoluto

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.30 In E, Op.109: 1. Vivave, ma non troppo - Adagio espressivo - Tempo I -2. Prestissimo
Piano Sonata No.30 In E, Op.109: 3. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung. Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo
Piano Sonata No.31 In A Flat, Op.110: 1. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo
Piano Sonata No.31 In A Flat, Op.110: 2. Allegro molto
Piano Sonata No.31 In A Flat, Op.110: 3. Adagio ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No.31 In A Flat, Op.110: 4. Fuga. Allegro ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No.32 In C Minor, Op111: 1. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato
Piano Sonata No.32 In C Minor, Op111: 2. Arietta. Adagio molto semplice e cantabile

Tracks:

33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Tema : Vivace - Variation I. Alla marcia maestoso
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation II Poco allegro
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation III L'istesso tempo
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation IV Un poco piu vivace
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation V Allegro vivace
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation VI Allegro ma non troppo e serioso
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation VII Un poco piu allegro
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation VIII Poco vivace
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation IX Allegro pesante e risoluto
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation X Presto
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XI Allegretto
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XII Un poco piu moto
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XIII Vivace
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XIV Grave e maestoso
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XV Presto scherzando
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XVI Allegro
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XVII
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XVIII Poco moderato
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XIX Presto
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XX Andante
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXI Allegro con brio - Meno allegro - Tempo I - Meno allegro
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXII Allegro molto alla 'Notte giorno faricar' di Mozart
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXIII Allegro assai
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXIV Fughetta. Andante
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXV Allegro
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXVI
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXVII Vivace
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXVIII Allegro
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXIX Adagio ma non troppo
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXX Andante sempre cantabile
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXXI Largo, molto espressivo
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXXII Fuga. Allegro - Poco adagio
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXXIII Tempo di minuetto moderato

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.1 In C, Op. 15: 1. Allegro con brio
Piano Concerto No.1 In C, Op. 15: 2. Largo
Piano Concerto No.1 In C, Op. 15: 3. Rondo. Allegro scherzando
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat, Op.19: 1. Allegro con brio
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat, Op.19: 2. Adagio
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat, Op.19: 3. Rondo. Molto allegro

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor, Op.37: 1. Allegro con brio
Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor, Op.37: 2. Largo
Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor, Op.37: 3. Rondo. Allegro
Piano Concerto No.4 In G, Op.58: 1. Allegro moderato
Piano Concerto No.4 In G, Op.58: 2. Andante con moto
Piano Concerto No.4 In G, Op.58: 3. Rondo. Vivace

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.5 In E Flat, Op.73 'Emperor': 1. Allegro
Piano Concerto No.5 In E Flat, Op.73 'Emperor': 2. Adagio un poco mosso
Piano Concerto No.5 In E Flat, Op.73 'Emperor': 3. Rondo. Allegro
Triple Concerto For Piano, Violin And Cello In C, Op.56: 1. Allegro
Triple Concerto For Piano, Violin And Cello In C, Op.56: 2. Largo
Triple Concerto For Piano, Violin And Cello In C, Op.56: 3. Rondo alla Polacca

Amazon.com

Claudio Arrau played with seriousness of purpose that could make other pianists seem like dilettantes and with respect for the composer's score that bordered on veneration. He had nothing but scorn for pianists who played the opening of Beethoven's Opus 111 with two hands instead of one because there were fewer risks. If something was technically difficult, Arrau assumed that the composer had written it that way because the difficulties had an expressive value that it was the interpreter's duty to find.

Arrau's devotion to Beethoven is memorialized by this budget-priced, 14-CD collection of his recordings, mostly from the 1960s, of the composer's 32 sonatas, five concertos (with Bernard Haitink conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam), and most important sets of variations. His Beethoven is not always successful. His sometimes ponderous seriousness keeps early works, such as the Sonata No. 3 and the Concerto No. 2, from smiling, and his lack of spontaneity makes the whimsy in Sonata No. 26 and the "Diabelli Variations" sound labored. But in the composer's weightiest works, Arrau can produce revelations. Certainly, no one plays Sonata No. 32 better. The first movement sounds like thunder that comes ever closer and the finale's chains of trills, played with exquisite finish and expressive perfection, transport the listener to a higher realm. If Arrau could be single-minded in his devotion to the composer's score, he also believed that music could encompass everything. When Arrau was at his best--as he frequently is in this set--it does. --Stephen Wigler

Customer Reviews:

The one collection I cannot imagine being without.......2007-01-30

It would be absurd to recommend recommending one Beethoven cycle to the exclusion of all others, yet it is Arrau's cycle to which I repeatedly return, despite some flaws mentioned by other reviewers.

They are flaws which can be forgiven. Scherzi which would be brimming with mirth & vitality in the hands of others may come up short, but it is more than compensated for by the revelations to be found as Arrau explores every aspect of Beethoven at his most profound. There always seems to be something new to be discovered. Flabby? It is hard to imagine how someone could come to this conclusion.

Even the sound quality for recordings dating back into the 1960's has been remastered so as to be acceptable to all but the most spoiled of listeners, who apparently are satisfied only with the most seamless homogenized studio sound. Those who can't get past the slightly imperfect sound quality are focusing on the wrong details.

If the greatness of the performance were not enough, the price should be enough to convince any serious music lover to add these to a CD collection. One cannot overstate how rewarding this collection will be to anyone who does not yet know the artistry of Arrau.

MASTERY.......2007-01-26

One man's viewpoint: Arrau amazes me as he sets the notes down with such clean deliberation! Total command. No matter how fast Beethoven is charging along. And as Arrau gets every note, we find the real Beethoven genius shining through - after all, as raw material, this is some of the finest piano music anywhere. Of course, this playing delivers passion and heart-and-soul communication too. And a sense of commitment and strength.
I suggest this set - with about nine stars! Mastery in art. *** For a lighter, more joyful touch - and great tone - ALSO get hold of O'Conor's set of the 32. I suggest this set - with about nine stars!

Magisterial... mystical.......2006-11-03

I've been listening to Beethoven's sonatas for fifty years and have heard all of them by some, and some of them by all the available recorded performers. Overall, Claudio Arrau is my favorite interpreter of the sonatas. To me he has an inner affinity with Beethoven that is uncanny. Beethoven was a man of great character. And that greatness, detached from his person in the form of musical ideas, enters the listener through intermediaries such as Arrau. When it is done right, it works a sort of righteous therapy, and makes the listener a better person for the hearing.

Arrau describes Beethoven's greatness in his essay "Thoughts on Beethoven" in the 33 1/3 Philips LP edition. "Beethoven has always stood for the spirit of man victorious. His message of endless stuggle concluding in the victory of renewal and spiritual rebirth...his life was an existential fight for survival...In the sense that he mastered both his life and his art to reach the ultimate heights of creation and transfiguration, he will last as long as man's spirit to prevail lasts on this earth." Part of the greatness of Beethoven's character came from his ability to be intimately close and at the same time at an infinite distance above his listener. Arrau possesses this same character, and his qualities as a man and artist are why he is able to so aptly render the greatness of Beethoven.

A book titled "Conversations with Arrau" was written by Joseph Horowitz to celebrate the artists's 80th birthday in 1982. I've only read the extracts published with the Philips edition, but there is enough information to get a feel for Arrau's character. He guarded the purity of his environment. He shunned parties and avoided small talk. He never drank or smoked, never learned to drive a car, boil an egg, or even operate a phonograph. His only hobby was gardening. Horowitz describes him as the embodiment of the nineteenth-century model of the artist as solitary, suffering hero. He was small (5'6") and frail, but in 1982 at age 80 he was still playing more that 70 concerts a season.

Rather than launch a discussion of his individual works (this has been done admirably by many of the reviewers) I will remark on just a few. I never properly appreciated the Fourth and the Seventh Sonatas until I heard Arrau's reading of these works. His Fourth takes 31 minutes, 30 seconds. Annie Fischer, another great interpreter of Beethoven, plays it in 27 minutes, 30 seconds. And Ms. Fischer does not play at a hurried tempo.

Yes, Arrau plays the sonatas at a slower tempo than any other interpreter. He also achieves a mystical quality in his interpretations that is unmatched. The second movement of the Seventh comes in at 10 min, 30 seconds. It is the greatest 10 1/2 minutes of piano music ever conceived. When interpreted by Arrau it becomes a microcosm of Beethoven's life and work. The second movement of the Appassionata is a sacred hymn.

Arrau's five piano concertos are splendid. I've heard no other renditions of the concertos with slow movements that equal Arrau's. No one plays the middle movements with his expressiveness and sense of the numinous. And his rendition of the "Eroica Variations" is on a par with the top few recordings of this piece.

If you have any interest in Beethoven, at whatever level, this bargain is outstanding.

Beethoven + Arrau = Divinity.......2006-10-29

If you love Beethoven, Arrau's interpretation will certainly be a joyful addition to your classical music collection. For me, his is the definitive Beethoven.

Though some will likely disagree, I have listened to many other great pianists' recordings of Beethoven sonatas, and they are great (don't get me wrong). Yet Arrau is unique in his ability to bring to light subtleties in the melodies that no one else can, and these often turn out to be the most enlightening and resonant of passages. His Op. 111 is indeed unparalleled, and his recording of the 2nd movement is one of my favorite pieces in the world. On top of that, his rendition of the Moonlight Sonata, his Waldstein, his Concertos, every recording on this boxed set is a testament to the depth Arrau worked diligently and consciously to achieve; depth that transcends technical showmanship and for the intuitive listener can certainly elicit fleeting glimpses of divine ecstasy.

At any price, it's a steal - beauty of this magnitude is all too rare.

Beethoven himself would be proud........2006-06-19

This is a masterpiece. Don't listen to the one negative review, as this guy is tone deaf. This compilation of Beethoven's music is a treasure to behold. A bargain at twice the price, this is well worth the money. Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!

Average customer rating:

Full of transcendence, but not much of the humor Beethoven also put in there.
Pollini at the peak if his powers
Beethoven steals the show
Great!
Pollini's Diabelli Variations: a testament?

Beethoven: Diabelli Variations

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004XQJX
Release Date: 2000-09-12

Tracks:

Tema. Vivace
Var. 1. Alla Marcia maestoso
Var. 2. Poco allegro
Var. 3. L'istesso tempo
Var. 4. Un poco piace
Var. 5. Allegro vivace
Var. 6. Allegro ma non troppo e serioso
Var. 7. Un poco piegro
Var. 8. Poco vivace
Var. 9. Allegro pesante e risoluto
Var. 10. Presto
Var. 11. Allegretto
Var. 12. Un poco pio
Var. 13. Vivace
Var. 14. Grave e maestoso
Var. 15. Presto scherzando
Var. 16. Allegro
Var. 17
Var. 18. Poco moderato
Var. 19. Presto
Var. 20. Andante
Var. 21. Allegro con brio - Meno allegro
Var. 22. Allegro molto (alla 'Notte e giorno faticar' di Mozart)
VAr. 23. Allegro assai
Var. 24. Fughetta. Andante
Var. 25. Allegro
Var. 26
Var. 27. Vivace
Var. 28. Allegro
Var. 29. Adagio ma non troppo
Var. 30. Andante, sempre cantabile
Var. 31. Largo, molto espressivo
Var. 32. Fuga. Allegro
Var. 33. Tempo di Menuetto, moderato (ma non tirarsi dietro)

Customer Reviews:

Full of transcendence, but not much of the humor Beethoven also put in there........2005-10-23

Diabelli was a minor composer and music publisher. He had a brilliant idea for promoting himself and his publishing company by recruiting fifty of the most illustrious composers of the Austrian Empire to supply a single variation on a waltz he had written. Everyone who was anyone in the music world responded. The work was published in 1824 as the"Vaterländische Künstlerverein" and included composers such as Liszt, Czerny, Schubert, Hummel, Kalkbrenner, and Mozart's son, Wolfgang.

Beethoven, one of the supreme masters of the variation form, began working on some ideas for this "cobbler's patch" of a waltz, as he called it. He soon had several good ideas and continued developing these into one of the major works of his late period and one of the great examples of the variation form of all time. A pianist as important as Alfred Brendel has referred to "The Diabelli Variations' as the greatest of all piano works. The collected set of variations were published in 1824. Beethoven's set was also published in that year, but as a separate volume. Its importance was immediately recognized and maintained its stature ever since, no matter the musical fashions.

Muarizio Pollini has long been heralded for his technical wizardry and he has many fans who also love his approach to the music he plays. Others find that they feel held at a distance and that his playing lacks the warmth and friendliness of other great artists. No matter which side you fall on, you can find this recording brilliant and insightful. This is widely acclaimed recording and it deserves the praise it gets.

While I do believe that it is wrong to criticize and author for not writing the book you want or the artist for not taking your preferred approach to the music, I do have one quibble with Pollini's interpretation. One of the very important aspects of this work is its humor. This is a masterwork with very serious musical aspects as analysts have been pointing out since its publication, but they also note that it is funny. No, Beethoven is not a cheap joke maker, but the work does have some laugh out loud moments.

One of the things a pianist needs to pull this work off, is the ability to tell a joke and Pollini may lack that ability. The pianist must not only be able to smile, but have be able to communicate a knowing wink with his listeners. I shouldn't fault him for that, and I really don't, because he brings so much great work to this recording. But I have never felt the humor in this recording. Plenty of transcendence, but not a single nudge to the ribs. Nor have I read anything about this recording commenting on its humor, or heard anyone tell me they laughed at this or that variation. For me, the dizzying aspects of the work begin from the waltz itself. Every variation has such wide contrast, or such witty parody, or anything else Beethoven spins off that it is hard not to think of this work as a huge mystical scherzo.

Still, if you love this work, this is a recording you should hear and enjoy. However, I will keep looking for a pianist who "gets it".

Pollini at the peak if his powers.......2005-02-02

I'm sure this recording will serve as another document in the Great Pollini Debate (one of the greatest pianists of all time or "mere mechanicus," as Mozart put it?). As one who's been on the "anti-Pollini" side, let me say at once that this is one of the greatest performances of the Diabelli Variations I've ever heard. What impresses first of all is the clarity and power of Pollini's playing--for example the left hand in 16 and the right hand in 17, the miraculous articulation of the right hand triplets in 7 and the left hand runs in 25. But Pollini is also capable of great tenderness--the flowing simplicity of the fughetta (24) and the beautiful balancing of chords in 20 and 29. Best of all are the last three variations: the dignity of 31, the bracing and energetic (but not hectic) fugue, and the delicacy of 33 (Maurizio, you ol' charmer!). Recorded sound is not exactly sensuous, but it fits Pollini's playing to a T. The only down side is Pollini's singing, which is becoming more intrusive with time. The odd thing about his singing is that it's most intrusive in loud passages (6, 9, the loud chords in 17). I imagine he thinks we can't hear him when the music's loud. Perhaps some producer ought to say, "MAURIZIO, WILL YOU JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!" But honestly this is a minor porblem in just a few variations. All told, this great performance belongs in the collection of every Diabelli lover.

Beethoven steals the show.......2001-09-30

Pollini's greatest achievement in this recording is to let Beethoven flow in all its complexity to show us how deeply he has studied this masterpiece and how it was concocted: In 1819, the Viennese music publisher Anton Diabelli circulated a waltz of his own invention to 50 composers, each of whom was requested to contribute a variation to the collective project. Beethoven at first disdained the theme as a "cobbler's patch" on account of its mechanical sequences, and then overreacted to Diabelli's invitation, conceiving not one, but 23 variations, 10 fewer than the final number. Recent study of Beethoven's musical manuscripts from 1819 has cast a revealing light on the structure and import of this great work, his longest and one of his most cognitively and emotionally demanding pieces for piano. After having set the composition aside for several years, Beethoven expanded his draft from within in 1823, adding variations 1-2, 15, 23-26, 28-29, and 31 to the pre-established order, while greatly elaborating on the conclusion.

No other work by Beethoven is so rich in allusion, humour, and parody. Trivial or repetitious features of the waltz, such as the C major chords repeated ten-fold in the right hand in the opening bars, can be mercilessly exaggerated, as in variation 21, or dissolved into silence, as in variation 13. Inconspicuous elements of the theme, such as the ornamental turn heard at the outset, can assume astonishing importance, as in variations 9 and 11, which are based throughout on the turn. Several variations allude to Mozart, Bach, and other composers. The most obvious of these is the reference, in the unison octaves of variation 22, to "Notte e giorno faticar" from the beginning of Mozart's Don Giovanni. This allusion is brilliant not only through the musical affinity of the themes -which share, e.g., the same descending fourth and fifth- but through the reference to Mozart's Leporello. Beethoven's relationship to his theme, like Leporello's relationship to his master, is critical but faithful. And like Leporello, the variations after this point gain the capacity for disguise. Variation 23 is an étude-like parody of pianistic virtuosity alluding to the Pianoforte-Method by J.B.Cramer, whereas variation 24, the Fughetta, shows an affinity in its intensely sublimated atmosphere to some organ pieces from the third part of the Clavierübung by Bach.

The work as a whole consists of one large form with three distinct regions. The opening variations remain close to basic parameters of the theme (such as its metre) and show gradually increasing freeedom, which at last turns into dissociation in the contrasting canonic variations Nos. 19 and 20, and in No. 21, in which the structural parts of each variation half are themselves placed into opposition. In performance time, these variations represent the midpoint. A sense of larger formal coherence is created through unusually direct reference to the melodic shape of the original waltz in three variations inserted in 1823 -Nos. 1, 15, and 25. In No. 25 the waltz is reincarnated as a humorous German dance, but this image is gradually obliterated in the interconnected series of fast variations culminating in No. 28, in which harsh dissonances dominate every strong beat throughout.

After Variation 28, we enter a transfigured realm, in which Diabelli's waltz, and the world it represents, seem to be left behind. A group of three slow variations in the minor culminates in Variation 31, an elaborate aria reminiscent of the decorated minor variation of Bach's Goldberg set, while also foreshadowing the style of Chopin. The energetic fugue on E flat that follows is initially Handelian in character; its second part builds to a tremendous climax with three subjects combined simultaneously before the fugue dissipates into a powerful dissonant chord. An impressive transition leads to C major, and to the final and most subtle variation of all: a Mozartian minuet whose working-through through rhythmic means leads, in the coda, to an ethereal texture, strongly reminiscent of the famous Arietta movement of Beethoven's own last sonata, Op 111, composed in 1822. Herein lies the final surprise: the Arietta movement, itself influenced by the Diabelli project, became in turn Beethoven's model for the last of the Diabelli Variations. The end of the series of allusions thus became a self-reference and final point of orientation within an artwork whose vast scope ranges from the ironic caricature to sublime transformation of the commonplace waltz.

Great!.......2001-05-27

This is an engaging and (dare I say it?) entertaining recording of Beethoven's Diabelli Variations. In this performance, the many distinctive moods of this work, from the playful (Var. 5) and exhuberent (Variations 23), to the quietly introspective (Var. 24), the eerie (no's 14 and 20), the graceful (Var. 8), the irreverent (what else could you call Beethoven's choice of theme?), and the immensely personal world of the final variations, are vividly presented, full of individuality, yet, with an understanding of the relationship of each one to the variations around it and the work as a unified whole. Although this interpretation is `intellectual', it is by no means `studied', and the work unfolds naturally and with authority in this emotionally satisfying performance. Highly recommended.

Pollini's Diabelli Variations: a testament?.......2001-03-21

I always thought that Beethoven's Diabelli Variations were the piece that suited best Pollini's art and hoped that someday he would decide to record them. But, as ready as I have been, Pollini's interpretation has spoiled all my expectations. Surely, his Diabelli have the same stature with the definitive version of the last Beethoven piano sonatas he signed with Deuschte Gramophon but they are not in the same vein.

Here we find a more moving interpreter, vulnerable and almost fragile in expression. Listen to Variations 7, 8, 11, 13, the hesitant lightness of the basses sounding like a kind of barcarole. Variation 20 is played with supreme abandon as an agonizing heartbeat while variation 24 (fughetta) made one regret even more that Pollini has not recorded Bach's Well tempered Klavier. As to Variations 31 and 33, they sound profoundly dramatic by means of sheer reserve and projection in the unknown.

Could one expect to listen to a more interrogative version? Polllini plays those variations as if he had no straight answer and kept wondering and wandering about aimlessly expressing thus surprising humility in his approach of this masterpiece.

I have several versions of Diabelli Variations respectively by Pludermacher, Brendel (DG, Vox), Kovacevich, Arrau and above all Richter. Yet, Pollini is second to none. Apparently less authoritative than Richter, he is at the same time more human.

Customer Reviews:

Get anything Grigory Sokolov recorded .......2006-07-29

Grigory Sokolov is definitely one of the most underrated pianist for the past few decades, and I truly believe he is the best still around.

Currently there are two CD boxes( each contains 5 CDs)and one DVD (Live in Paris) available in the market. This is one of the CD set.

CD1: Beethoven Diabelli Variations;
CD2 & CD3: Schubert D894, D960;
CD4: Chopin Sonata No 2 and Etude op25 ;
CD5: Scriabin Sonata No 3&9,Prokofiev Sonata No 8 and Rachmaninov Prelude op23 No 4.

Because of his reclusive personality and unwilling to record (perhaps due to perfectionism) , he never had contract with major labels and therefore lots of people were not aware of him. However, the one single DVD is good enough to do him justice--you have to see it to believe it.

He is one of the best classic pianists ever, along with Gilels, Richter, etc----definitely the best still around. If you have notheard of Solokov, get both CD sets and DVD--that will be the best investment for your classic music collection and years of enjoyment. And if one of us get lucky, we might still be able to see him one stage one day.

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himself
The greatest Beethoven pianist of all time...

Beethoven: Diabelli-Variationen

Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000412C
Release Date: 1990-01-26

Tracks:

Tema (Vivace) - Variation I (Alla Marcia Maestoso)
Variation Ii (Poco Allegro)
Variation Iii (L'istesso Tempo)
Variation Iv (Un Poco PiVivace)
Variation V (Allegro Vivace)
Variation Vi (Allegro Ma Non Troppo E Serioso)
Variation Vii (Un Poco PiAllegro)
Variation Viii (Poco Vivace)
Variation Ix (Allegro Pesante E Risoluto)
Variation X (Presto)
Variation Xi (Allegretto)
Variation Xii (Un Poco PiMoto)
Variation Xiii (Vivace)
Variation Xiv (Grave E Maestoso)
Variation Xv (Presto Scherzando)
Variation Xvi (Allegro)
Variation Xvii
Variation Xviii (Poco Moderato)
Variation Xix (Presto)
Variation Xx (Andante)
Variation Xxi (Allegro Con Brio - Meno Allegro - Tempo I)
Variation Xxii (Allegro Molto): Alla "Notte E Giorno Faticar" Di Mozart
Variation Xxiii (Allegro Assai)
Variation Xxiv: Fughetta (Andante)
Variation Xxv (Allegro)
Variation Xxvi
Variation Xxvii (Vivace)
Variation Xxviii (Allegro)
Variation Xxix (Adagio Ma Non Troppo)
Variation Xxx (Andante, Sempre Cantabile)
Variation Xxxi (Largo, Molto Espressivo)
Variation Xxxii: Fuga (Allegro - Poco Adagio)
Variation Xxxiii (Tempo Di Minuetto Moderato, Ma Non Tirarsi Dietro)

Customer Reviews:

himself.......2007-05-24

Late Beethoven, a little surly, especially with the insipid theme he's been given, so dissects it down to its bones and rebuilds it the way it should have been. There's a monster inside it! And Brendel has his measure! A desert island recording.

The greatest Beethoven pianist of all time..........2007-01-05

An excellent rendition and reading of the "Diabelli Variations" by (in my opinion) the best pianist of LvB's compositions for solo piano. If you are looking into anything of LvB's for solo piano, I highly recommend Alfred Brendel for any of them.

Average customer rating:

lighthearted and tender Beethoven you may like it!

Beethoven: Diabelli Variations

Manufacturer: Bmg Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Bach, Shostakovich: Preludes & Fugues [Germany]
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ASIN: B000026BJK
Release Date: 1999-04-12

Tracks:

33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Theme: Vivace
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var I: Alla Marica Maestoso
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var II: Poco Allegro
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var III: L'istesso Tempo
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var IV: Un Poco Piu Vivace
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var V: Allegro Vivace
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var VI: Allegro Ma Non Troppo E Serioso
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var VII: Un Poco Piu Allegro
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var VIII: Poco Vivace
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var IX: Allegro Pesante E Risoluto
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var X: Presto
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XI: Allegretto
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XII: Un Poco Piu Moto
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XIII: Vivace
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XIV: Grave E Maestoso
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XV: Presto Scherzando
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XVI: Allegro
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XVII: (Allegro)
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XVIII: Poco Moderato
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XIX: Presto
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XX: Andante
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XXI: Allegro Con Brio: Meno Allegro
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XXII: Allegro Molto
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XXIII: Allegro Assai
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XXIV: Fughetta: Andante
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XXV: Allegro
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XXVI: (Allegro)
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XXVII: Vivace
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XXVIII: Allegro
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XXIX: Adagio Ma Non Troppo
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XXX: Andante, Sempre Cantabile
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XXXI: Largo, Molto Espressivo
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XXXII: Fuga: Allegro
33 Vars On A Waltz, Op.120: Var XXXIII: Tempo Di Menuetto Moderato
St Qt in C, Hess 41: Beethoven's Last Musical Thought
Allegretto in c, WoO 53
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Allegretto in c, Hess 69
Klavierstuck 'Lustig - Traurig', WoO 54

Customer Reviews:

lighthearted and tender Beethoven you may like it!.......2005-09-02

Ollie seems to blaze through all this music,extroverted playing to the grandstands.Beethoven would have approved,the ruggedness of the playing here, brittle bright tone,like trumpets(wrongheaded if excessive) in the "Diabelli Transformations". I was quite impressed with his(Ollie's not Beethoven's) readings of the "Well-Tempered Book One" of J.S. Bach; he brought intense utilizations of timbre, or tone colour to bring a different emotive dimension to what are little "portraits" of the human condition,like shaking a baby's rattle, you listen nonetheless.Also gesture,playful, high spirited is used to quite interesting result.Imagining the keyboards of history as you play through Bach. His Shostakovich affinity for Bach,as well was interesting the "preludes & fugues" was equally a probe into readings again of the "human condition" where it is and where it may go. ALthough Dmitri was no great innovator of timbre of modernity he was of the human spirit,of consciousness of where we are now of the vagaries and terror of the 20th Century unabated,Ollie likes to search, as we all do for "something else" in the music not previous found elsewhere, except for his Beethoven.Perhaps he should have read Adorno's wonderful book on Ludwig van("Beethoven,The Philosophy of Music") for a little deeper insight into this master purveyor of forms shapes, and durational structures.Listen however to Sviatoslav Richter's Shostakovich and that is the basic reference point.
Ollie's "Diabelli" here verges on entertainment,plowing into the themes and transformations without much thought and glossing over the more arduous moments. I thought you are suppose to feel the struggle in the music. Arrau said that someplace, and you don't really feel or hear or experience any of that here.Perhaps Olli doesn't see the timbral innovativeness in Beethoven, it is there if you know where to look, as Pollini has done.
You can really appreciate in retrospect the extremely different reading of this same music by Piotr Anderszewski, although Piotr plays like a demon like he is not there always stopping at his own ;comfort zones; of the more lyrical "Diabelli/Beethoven". Mustonen really has nothing new to bring to Beethoven,playing him as if the ink has log dried on the paper,but that should not stop you from keeping with him. I would like to hear his Schoenberg or how about Boulez Olli??,since timbre is what seems to interest to compell interesting readings of what you play, Please hear Rubenstein or Richter, or Brendel, or Jonathan Biss,those are good reference points for Ludwig van.

Complete Beethoven Edition Vol. 6 - Piano Works / Demus, Alder, Gilels, Mustonen, Kempff, Barenboim

Average customer rating:

A good deal to enjoy
Jazzy Ludwig!

Complete Beethoven Edition Vol. 6 - Piano Works / Demus, Alder, Gilels, Mustonen, Kempff, Barenboim
Ludwig van Beethoven , Jörg Demus , Emil Gilels , Olli Mustonen , Christopher Alder , Daniel Barenboim , and Wilhelm Kempff
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000001GZ9
Release Date: 1997-11-25

Tracks:

7 Bagatelles, Op.33: No. 1 In E Flat Major - Andante grazioso quasi Allegretto
7 Bagatelles, Op.33: No.2 In C Major - Scherzo. Allegro
7 Bagatelles, Op.33: No.3 In F Major - Allegretto
7 Bagatelles, Op.33: No.4 In D Major - Andante
7 Bagatelles, Op.33: No.5 In C Major - Allegro ma non troppo
7 Bagatelles, Op.33: No.6 In D Major - Allegretto quasi andante
7 Bagatelles, Op.33: No.7 In A Flat Major - Presto
11 Bagatelles, Op.119: No.1 In B Flat Major - Allegretto
11 Bagatelles, Op.119: No.2 In C Major - Andante con moto
11 Bagatelles, Op.119: No.3 In D - a l'Allemande
11 Bagatelles, Op.119: No.4 In A Major - Andante cantabile
11 Bagatelles, Op.119: No.5 In C Minor - Risoluto
11 Bagatelles, Op.119: No.6 In G Major - Andante - Allegretto
11 Bagatelles, Op.119: No.7 In C Major - Allegro ma non troppo
11 Bagatelles, Op.119: No.8 In C - Moderato
11 Bagatelles, Op.119: No.9 In A Minor - Vivace moderato
11 Bagatelles, Op.119: No.10 In A Major - Allegramente
11 Bagatelles, Op.119: No.11 In B Flat Major - Andante ma non troppo
Bagatelle in C Minor: Presto
Bagatelle In C Major: Allegretto
6 Bagatelles, Op.126: No.1 In G Major - Andante con moto cantabile e compiacevole
6 Bagatelles, Op.126: No. 2 In G Minor - Allegro
6 Bagatelles, Op.126: No.3 In In E Flat Major - Andante cantabile e grazioso
6 Bagatelles, Op.126: No.4 In D Major - Presto
6 Bagatelles, Op.126: No.5 In G Major - Quasi Allegretto
6 Bagatelles, Op.126: No.6 In E Flat Major - Presto - Andante amabile e con moto - Tempo I
Bagatelle 'Fur Elise' In A Minor: Poco moto

Tracks:

3 Sonatas For Piano ('Electoral' Sonatas): No. 1 In E Flat Major: 1. Allegro cantibile
3 Sonatas For Piano ('Electoral' Sonatas): No. 1 In E Flat Major: 2. Andante
3 Sonatas For Piano ('Electoral' Sonatas): No. 1 In E Flat Major: 3. Rondo vivace
3 Sonatas For Piano ('Electoral' Sonatas): No. 2 In F Minor: 1. Larghetto maestoso - Allegro assai
3 Sonatas For Piano ('Electoral' Sonatas): No. 2 In F Minor: 2. Andante
3 Sonatas For Piano ('Electoral' Sonatas): No. 2 In F Minor: 3. Presto
3 Sonatas For Piano ('Electoral' Sonatas): No. 3 In D Major: 1. Allegro
3 Sonatas For Piano ('Electoral' Sonatas): No. 3 In D Major: 2. Menuetto. Sostenuto - Var. I-VI
3 Sonatas For Piano ('Electoral' Sonatas): No. 3 In D Major: 3. Scherzando. Allegro, ma non troppo
2 Sonata Movments In F Major: 1. Without Tempo Indication
2 Sonata Movments In F Major: 2. Allegretto
Piano Sonata In C Major: Allegro
Piano Sonata In C Major: Adagio
Allegretto In C Minor
'Lustig - Traurig' In C Major
Prelude In F Minor
Piano Piece In B Flat Major
Allegretto In B Minor
Allegretto quasi andante In G Minor
Allemande In A Major
Minuet In E Flat Major
Waltz In E Flat Major
Waltz In D Major
Ecossaise In E Flat Major
Fugue In C Major
Allegretto In C Minor

Tracks:

Rondo In C Major, Op. 51: Moderato e grazioso - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Rondo In G Major, Op. 51 No. 2: Andante cantabile e grazioso - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Rondo In C Major: Allegretto - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Rondo In A Major: Allegretto - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Polonaise In C Major: Alla polacca, vivace - Ludwig Van Beethoven
9 Variations (In C Minor) On A March By Ernst Christoph Dressler: Thema. Maestoso - Ludwig Van Beethoven
6 Variations On A Swiss Song In F Major: Thema. Andante con moto - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Thema. Allegretto - Var. I-XIII - Var. XIV. Allegretto - Adagio - Var. XV-XIX - Var. XX. Scherznado - Var. XXI-XXII - Var. XXIII. Adagio sostenuto - Var. XXIV. Allegro - Allegro stringendo - Presto assai - Ludwig Van Beethoven
12 Variations (In C Major) On The 'Menuett a la Vigano' From Jakob Haibel's Ballet 'Le nozze disturbate': Thema. Allegretto - Var. I-IX - Var. XII. Allegro - Adagio - Ludwig Van Beethoven
6 Variations (In G Major) On The Duet 'Nel cor piu non mi sento' From Giovanni Paisello's Opera 'La molinara': Thema. (Andantino) - Ludwig Van Beethoven

Tracks:

Fantasia In G Minor: Allegro - Poco adagio - allegro ma non troppo - Allegro con brio - Adagio - Presto - Adagio - Allegretto - Adagio
6 Variations (In D Major) On An Original Theme: Thema. Allegro risoluto - Var. I-V - Var. VI. Presto - Tempo I
Thema. Allegretto - Var. I-II - VarIII. Commodetto - Var. IV - Var. V. Risoluto - Arioso. Andante con moto - Var. VI. Espressivo - Var. VII. Allegro no nmolto - Var. VIII. Tempo I - Var. IX. Allegro
8 Variations (In C Major) On The Romance 'Une fievre brulante' From Gretry's Opera 'Richard Coeur de Lion': Thema. Allegretto - Var. I-VII - Var. VIII. Allegro - Presto
10 Variations (In B Flat Major) On The Duet 'La stessa, la stessissima' From Antonio Salieri's Opera 'Falstaff': Thema. Andante con moto - Var. I-IX - Var. X. Allegretto (alla Austriaca) - Tempo I
7 Variations (In F Major) On The Quartet 'Kind, willst du ruhig schlafen?' From Peter Winter's Opera 'Das unterbrochene Opferfest': Thema. Allegretto - Var. I-VI - Var. VII. Allegro - Allegro molto
8 Variations (In F Major) On The Trio 'Tandeln und Scherzen' From Franz X. Sussmayrs Opera 'Soliman II': Thema. Andante, quasi Allegretto - Var. I-VI - Var. VII. Adagio molto ed espressivo - Var. VIII. Allegro vivace - Adagio
6 Easy Variations (In G Major) On An Original Theme: Thema. Andante, quasi Allegretto - Var. I-VI

Tracks:

6 Variations (In F Major) On An Original Theme: Thema. Adagio. Cantabile
6 Variations (In F Major) On An Original Theme: Var. I
6 Variations (In F Major) On An Original Theme: Var. II - Allegro ma non troppo
6 Variations (In F Major) On An Original Theme: Var. III - Allegretto
6 Variations (In F Major) On An Original Theme: Var. IV - Tempo di Menuetto
6 Variations (In F Major) On An Original Theme: Var. V - Marcia. Allegretto
6 Variations (In F Major) On An Original Theme: Var. VI - Allegretto. Adagio molto
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Introduzione col Basso del Tema. Allegretto vivace
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Tema
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Var. I
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Var. II
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Var. III
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Var. IV
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Var. V
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Var. VI
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Var. VII - Canone all'ottava
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Var. VIII
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Var. IX
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Var. X
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Var. XI
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Var. XII
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Var. XIII
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Var. XIV
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Var. XV - Largo
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Coda
15 Variations And A Fugue (In E Flat Major) On An Original Theme ('Eroica' Variations): Finale. Alla Fuga. Allegro con brio - Andante con moto
9 Variations (IN A Major) On The Aria 'Quant'e piu bello' From Giovanni Paisiello's Opera 'La molinara': Allegretto
12 Variations (In A Major) On A Russian Dance From Paul Wranitzky's Ballet 'Das Waldmadchen': Allegretto
7 Variations (In C Major) On 'God Save The King': Thema - Var. I-V - Var. VI. Allegro. Alla Marcia - Var. VII. (Allegro) - Adagio - Allegro
5 Variations (In D Major) On 'Rule, Britannia' From Thomas Arne's Masque 'Alfred': Thema. Tempo moderato
32 Variations (In C Minor) On An Original Theme: Thema. Allegretto
6 Ecossaises In E Flat Major

Tracks:

33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Thema.Vivace
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. I - Alla Marcia maestoso
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. II - Poco Allegro
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. III. - L'istesso tempo
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. IV. - Un poco piu vivace
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. V. - Allegro vivace
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var.VI-Allegro ma non troppo
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. VII - Un poco piu allegro
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. VIII - Poco vivace
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. IX - Allegro pesante e risoluto
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. X - Presto
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XI - Allegretto
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XII - Un poco piu moto
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XIII - Vivace
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XIV - Grave e maestoso
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XV - Presto scherzando
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XVI - Allegro
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XVII
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XVIII - Poco moderato
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XIX - Presto
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XX - Andante
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XXI - Allengro con brio
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XXII - Allegro molto
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XXIII - Allegro assai
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XXIV - Fughetta. Andante
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XXV - Allegro
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XXVI
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XXVII - Vivace
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XXVIII - Allegro
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XXIX - Adagio ma non troppo
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XXX - Andante, sempre cantabile
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XXXI - Largo, molto espressivo
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XXXII - Fuga.Allegro - Poco adagio
33 Variations (In C Major) On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli: Var. XXXIII - Tempo di Menuetto moderato

Tracks:

Andante In F Major - 'Andante favori: Andante grazioso con moto
6 Minuets: 6 Minuets - No. 1 In C Major; No. 2 In G Major; No. 3 In E Flat Major; No. 4 In B Flat Major; No. 5 in D Major; No. 6 In C Major
7 Landler In D Major
12 German Dances: No. 1 In D Major; No. 2 In B Flat Major; No. 3 In G Major; No. 4 In D Major; No. 5 in F Major; No. 6 In B Flat Major; No. 7 In D Major; No. 8 In G Major; No. 9 In E Flat Major; No. 10 In C Major; No. 11 In A Major; No. 12 In D Major
'The Rage Over The Lost Penny' In G Major: Allegro vivace
Canon A 2 In G Major, Hess 274
Canon A 2 In A Flat Major, Hess 275
8 Variations (In C Major) On A Theme By Count Waldstein: Thema. Andante con moto - Var. I-VII. Un poco Adagio - Capriccio - Allegro - Adagio - Allegro - Adagio - Allegretto - Allegro - Presto
6 Variations (In D Major) On The Lied 'Ich denke dein': Lied. Andantino cantabile

Tracks:

Sonata In D Major, Op. 6: 1. Allegro molto
Sonata In D Major, Op. 6: 2. Rondo. Moderato
3 Marches, op.45: No.1 In C Major - Allegro ma non troppo
3 Marches, op.45: No. 2 in E Flat Major - Vivace
3 Marches, op.45: No. 3 In C Major - Vivace
'Grosse Fuge' In B Flat Major, Op. 134: Overtura. Allegro - Meno mosso e moderato - Allegro - Fuga. (Allegro) - Meno mosso e moderato - Allegro (molto e con brio)
2 Preludes Through All Twelve Major Keys For Piano Or Organ: No. 1
2 Preludes Through All Twelve Major Keys For Piano Or Organ: No. 2
Fugue In D Major For Organ
5 Pieces For Mechanical Clock: No. 1 In F Major - Adagio assai
5 Pieces For Mechanical Clock: No. 2 In G Major - Scherzo. Allegro
5 Pieces For Mechanical Clock: No. 3 In G Major - Allegro
5 Pieces For Mechanical Clock: No. 4 In C Major - Allegro non piu molto
5 Pieces For Mechanical Clock: No. 5 In C Major - Menuett. Allegretto
Grenadier March For Mechanical Clock In F Major, Hess 107

Customer Reviews:

A good deal to enjoy.......2006-04-15

Though Beethoven could play the violin he was not a virtuoso on the instrument. The piano, on the other hand, was changed as an instrument by him. He was always on a quest for more sonorous and richer sounds and piano makers did their best to oblige. Many of Beethoven's avant guarde ideas about composition and the role of music in self expression started as piano sonatas and piano works. With this in mind, Beethovens compositions for the piano are some of the most outstanding, brilliant, and technically pure works to emerge from any composer. It is impossible not to feel the emotions Beethoven wishes to convey from piece to piece.

The piano sonatas are really self contained dramas. In them, you will hear the expressions of sadness, beauty, rage, and unbounded joy. It is impossible to listen to this collection and not find pleasure in it. The recordings as well as the performers are top-notch. Highly recommended.

Jazzy Ludwig!.......2005-02-17

An excellent set featuring Ludwig van's sets of variations wherein he gets jazzy and swings on catchy tunes! Highly recommended.

NOTE: For those of you who don't understand metaphor: what I'm saying here is that Beethoven used popular operatic hit-tunes of his day and improvised variations on those tunes--as is done in America's original art-form--Jazz. Get it?

Average customer rating:

"A Classic"
Bravo - A real treat

Melvin Chen: Diabelli Variations

Manufacturer: Bridge Records, Inc.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000F1IO5C
Release Date: 2006-04-01

Tracks:

Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Thema: Vivace
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 1
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 2
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 3
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 4
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 5
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 6
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 7
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 8
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 9
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 10
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 11
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 12
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 13
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 14
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 15
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 16
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 17
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 18
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 19
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 20
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 21
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 22
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 23
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 24
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 25
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 26
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 27
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 28
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 29
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 30
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 31
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 32
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 - Var. 33
Variations on Diabelli's Waltz - Hummel
Variations on Diabelli's Waltz - Kalkbrenner
Variations on Diabelli's Waltz - Moscheles
Variations on Diabelli's Waltz - Liszt
Variations on Diabelli's Waltz - Schubert
Variations on Diabelli's Waltz - Czerny

Product Description

When composer and music publisher Antonio Diabelli invited a number of Viennese composers to write variations to a modest waltz theme of his own creation, no doubt he had little idea how the theme would be treated by Beethovenand certainly not if he knew that Beethoven initially referred the waltz scornfully as a Schusterfleckcobblers patchfor its bland repetitiveness. But Beethovens initial scorn somehow turned into creative frenzy, and he eventually ignored Diabellis request for a single variation, producing 33nearly an hours worth of music. Diabelli published Beethovens masterful Op. 120 in 1823. The single variations of the remaining 49 composersof which Melvin Chen performs examples by Hummel, Liszt, Schubert, Czerny, Moscheles and Kalkbrenner on this recordingwere published separately in 1824.Melvin Chen, a native of Tennessee, has been recognized as a major young artist, with performances throughout the USA and abroad. Mr. Chen was selected! to be a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Centers Chamber Music Two after completing one of the most brilliant and unusual academic careers in recent memory. Chen completed a doctorate in chemistry from Harvard University, and also holds a double master's degree from the Juilliard School in piano and violin, where he studied with Seymour Lipkin and Glenn Dicterow, respectively. Previously, Chen attended Yale University, receiving a B.S. in chemistry and physics. During his tenure at Yale, he studied with Boris Berman, Paul Kantor, and Ida Kavafian. Mr. Chen is currently on the piano faculty of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, where he also serves as associate director. He was previously a member of the piano faculty at the Yale School of Music.Critic and annotator Keith Powers writes of Melvin Chens adventurous reading of the Diabelli Variations (which) bears the mark of the great composer himselffearless, eager for the extremes available in the score, yet rigorously true to the original."

Customer Reviews:

"A Classic".......2006-07-23

As "The American Record Guide" recently remarked in its review of this recording(July/August 2006), "His [Chen's] Diabelli easily qualifies for that rarefied niche of performances that can be termed 'classic'." This intelligent, passionate recording is fantastic. I thoroughly recommend it.

Bravo - A real treat.......2006-05-22

As an avid concert goer, I have seen Mr. Chen perform several times in the States, Europe and Asia and was delighted to learn of the release of this CD. It exceeded even my own high expectations. Mr. Chen's treatments of variations 9 and 13, in particular, are a masterful and rare treat. I highly recommend this CD.

Average customer rating:

Stephen Kovacevich Plays Beethoven

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas; Bagatelles Op. 119, Op. 126
The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs 2005/06 Edition: The Key Classical Recordings on CD, DVD and SACD, 30th Anniversary Edition (Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and Dvds)
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas: No. 7 in D, Op. 10, No. 3; No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 (Pathetique); No. 13 in E Flat, Op. 27, No. 1; No. 14 in C Sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2 (Moonlight)
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas 17, 18, 21 & 22
Walter Klien plays Brahms

ASIN: B000654OV0
Release Date: 2005-03-15

Average customer rating:

Anda The Master
Awesome Anda

Troubadour of the Piano

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Mazurkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Polonaises | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

MONIQUE HAAS Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon
The Complete 1950s Chopin Recordings
Clifford Curzon: Decca Recordings, 1937-1971, Vol. 3
Karl Böhm Conducts Mozart and Strauss
Karl Richter: A Universal Musician

ASIN: B0009ONYPU
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Tracks:

I. Allegro Affettuoso
II. Intermezzo: Andantino Grazioso
III. Allegro Vivace
Thema: Andante
Etude I (Variation I): Un Poco Piu Vivo
Etude II (Var. II)
Etude III: Vivace
Etude IV (Var. III)
Etude V (Var. IV): Vivacissimo
Etude Vi (Var. V): Agitato
Variation II Posth.
Etude VII (Var. VI): Allegro Molto
Etude VIII (Var. VII): Andante
Variation V Posth.
Etude IX: Presto Possibile
Etude X (Var.VIII): Allegro
Etude XI (Var. IX): Con Espressione
Finale: Etude XII: Allegro Brillante
Symphonic Variations For Piano And Orchestra
Allegretto

Tracks:

I. Allegro Non Troppo
II. Allegro Appassionato
III. Andante-Piu Adagio
IV. Allegretto Grazioso-Un Poco Piu Presto
Adagio Molto
Poco Allegretto
Vivace

Tracks:

Thema: Vivace
Var. I: Alla Marcia Maestoso
Var. II: Poco Allegro
Var. III: L'Istesso Tempo
Var. IV: Un Poco Piu Vivace
Var. V: Allegro Vivace
Var. VI: Allegro Ma Non Troppo E Serioso
Var. VII: Un Poco Piu Allegro
Var. VIII: Poco Vivace
Var. IX: Allegro Pesante E Risoluto
Var. X: Presto
Var. XI: Allegretto
Var. XII: Un Poco Piu Moto
Var. XIII: Vivace
Var. XIV: Grave E Maestoso
Var. XV: Presto Scherzando
Var. XVI: Allegro
Var. XVII
Var. XVIII: Poco Moderato
Var. XIX: Presto
Var. XX: Andante
Var. XXI: Allegro Con Brio-Meno Allegro-Tempo I
Var. XXII: Allegro Molto (Alla 'Notte E Giorno Faticar' Di Mozart)
Var. XXIII: Allegro Assai
Var. XXIV: Fughetta: Andante
Var. XXV: Allegro
Var. XXVI
Var. XXVII: Vivace
Var. XXVIII: Allegro
Var. XXIX: Adagio Ma Non Troppo
Var. XXX: Andante, Sempre Cantabile
Var.XXXI: Largo, Molto Espressivo
Var. XXXII: Fuga: Allegro-Poco Adagio
Var.XXXIII: Tempo Di Menuetto Moderato
I. Molto Moderato
II. Andante Sostenuto
III. Scherzo: Allegro Vivace Con Delicatezza (Quasi Attacca:)
IV. Allegro, Ma Non Troppo

Tracks:

No.1 In C Major: Agitato
No.2 In A Minor: Lento
No.3 In G Major: Vivace
No.4 In E Minor: Largo
No.5 In D Major: Allegro Molto
No.6 In B Minor: Lento Assai
No.7 In A Major: Andantino
No.8 In F Sharp Minor: Molto Agitato
No.9 In E Major: Largo
No.10 In C Sharp Minor: Allegro Molto
No.11 In B Major: Vivace
No.12 In G Sharp Minor: Presto
No.13 In F Sharp Major: Lento
No.14 In E Flat Minor: Allegro
No.15 In D Flat Major 'Raindrop': Sostenuto
No.16 In B Flat Minor: Presto Con Fuoco
No.17 In A Flat Major: Allegretto
No.18 In F Minor: Allegro Molto
No.19 In E Flat Major: Vivace
No.20 In C Minor: Largo
No.21 In B Flat Major: Cantabile
No.22 In G Minor: Molto Agitato
No.23 In F Major: Moderato
No.24 In D Minor: Allegro Appasionato
Maestoso
I. Lebhaft
II. Innig
III. Mit Humor (Etwas Hahnbuchen)
IV. Ungeduldig
V. Einfach
VI. Sehr Rasch (Sehr Rasch Und In Sich Hinein)
VII. Nicht Schnell (Mit Ausserst Starker Empfindung)
VIII. Frisch
IX. Lebhaft
X. Balladenmassig. Sehr Rasch
XI. Einfach
XII. Mit Humor
XIII. Wild Und Lustig
XIV. Zart Und Singend
XV. Frisch
XVI. Mit Gutem Humor
XVII. Wie Aus Der Ferne
XVIII. Nicht Schnell
Vivace
Allegretto
Lento

Tracks:

I. Ausserst Bewegt
II. Sehr Innig Und Nicht Zu Rasch-Intermezzo I: Sehr Lebhaft/Intermezzo II: Etwas Bewegter-Langsamer (Erstes Tempo)
III. Sehr Aufgeregt
IV. Sehr Langsam
V. Sehr Lebhaft
VI. Sehr Langsam
VII. Sehr Rasch
VIII. Schnell Und Spielend
I. Durchaus Phantastisch Und Leidenschaftlich Vorzutragen-Im Legendenton-Tempo Primo
II. Massig. Durchaus Energisch-Etwas Langsamer-Viel Bewegter
III. Langsam Getragen. Durchweg Leise Zu Halten-Etwas Bewegter
Thema: Andante
Etude I (Var. I): Un Poco Piu Vivo
Etude II (Var. II)
Etude III: Vivace
Etude IV (Var. III)
Etude V (Var. IV): Vivacissimo
Etude VI (Var. V): Agitato
Variation II Posth.
Etude VII (Var. VI): Allegro Molto
Etude VIII (Var. VII): Andante
Variation V Posth.
Etude IX: Presto Possibile
Etude X (Var. VIII): Allegro
Etude XI (Var. IX): Con Espressione
Finale: Etude XII: Allegro Brillante

Customer Reviews:

Anda The Master.......2006-09-02

It's fortunate that DGG is re-releasing so many of the stellar recordings of artists of the past including this 5-CD set of Geza Anda. Recordings of his that have been out of print for a long time are in this set thankfully. As a young budding piano student I had never purchased or listened to an Anda recording having been taken with the more technically richly endowed wiles of Horowitz and Richter's pianism. I focussed almost exclusively on pyrotechnics as a youth and didn't appreciate the intellect and artistry of artists such as Anda, Backhaus and Kempff until many years later as an adult.

Once I discovered Anda (or re-discovered him might be more like it) I fell in love with his deep sense of musicianship, grasp of musical structure, elemental pianism and visceral yet intellectually weighted emotionality. Because most of his recordings had gone out of print I snapped up what I could, notably the Bartok 3 piano concertos and Mozart complete piano concertos with the Camerata Salzburg. I also got some of the live performance CDs floating around which elucidated his excitement as a performer (along with the fallibility of his technique at times; a technique though that could handle anything thrown at it however).

The most eagerly awaited work for me in this set is the Brahms B-Flat performance which I had unsuccessfully had tried to acquire in LP format for a few years. It was the first thing I listened to in the set and it lived up to my expectations and more. This is a titanic performance of this towering massive concerto. Anda brings out all the fire and gut-pounding power in the places that call for it (e.g. at the beginning opening cadenza's finish before the orchestra tutti starts). He also brings an element of deep elemental mystery to other of the more ethereal passages in the first movement. The second movement it elemental in its power and expression. The end of the 2nd movement is exciting as all get out. My heart raced as Anda came cascading down in the d minor chords at the end of the movement! The cello soloist in the 3rd movement plays with soulfull intensity yet the movement is not taken at too slow a tempo which keeps the overall conception of the work moving with a forward impetus. Anda's entrance is beautiful beyond belief. He conveys a sense of mystery in his playing without it ever getting bogged down in the beautiful details of the notes. The last movement is buoyant and jubilation along with a sense of the delicateness abound. All in all a great performance! The DGG engineering is apparent in this recording with even being so old sounds as if it were recorded yesterday.

The rest of the performances are just as enthralling including 2 performances of the symphonic etudes (an early mono version on Disc 1 and the later stereo version on Disc 5) which are interesting to hear the juxtaposition of an artist's development. Like Julius Katchen, William Kapell and Dino Ciani, Anda was taken from us much too soon.

Awesome Anda.......2006-02-08

Best known as the first pianist to record a complete cycle of Mozart's Piano Concertos, Geza Anda shows his awesome power as both soloist and accompanist in a variety of works on "Troubadour of the Piano." For me, the collection's best moments were the opportunity to finally hear Anda's highly acclaimed accounts of the Schumann Piano Concerto, with Rafael Kubelik and the Berlin Philharmonic in stereo from 1963, and the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2, with Ferenc Fricsay and the Berliners in stereo from 1960. The Schumann is outstanding, but the Brahms is truly brilliant! Those familiar with Anda will know that the pianist made his definitive readings of the Bartok PCs with Fricsay, and they capture that magic once again. The pace is never rushed, and the playing clear and distinct -- it is a legendary performance. Speaking of Bartok, Anda and Fricsay also combine to perform the composer's Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra. Recorded in 1960 and originally paired on vinyl with the Bartok 1st, it was unable to fit on the aforementioned disc of the three Concertos and thus makes its CD debut here. Other highlights from this collection are stereo performances of Beethoven's Diabelli Variations and Chopin's 24 Preludes, and two versions of Schumann's Symphonic Etudes -- one in mono from 1943 and the other in stereo twenty years later. Some of the historical recordings are marred by poor sound, in particular the Franck Symphonic Variations with Van Beinum from 1943, but are delightful as reference material. In all, "Troubadour of the Piano" is another gem in Deutsche Grammophon's "Original Masters" series.

Average customer rating:

Not the first, but the only one currently available.
So nice to have
Battersby's Diabelli
The 'Diabelli Variations' on a Graf Fortepiano Replica and a Steinway Piano

Beethoven: Diabelli Variations

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000A17GEW
Release Date: 2005-08-16

Tracks:

Theme: Vivace
Variation 1: Alla Marcia, Maestoso
Variation 2: Poco Allegro
Variation 3: L'istesso Tempo
Variation 4: Un Poco Piu Vivace
Variation 5: Allegro Vivace
Variation 6: Allegro Ma Non Troppo E Serioso
Variation 7: Un Poco Piu Allegro
Variation 8: Poco Vivace
Variation 9: Allegro Ma Non Troppo E Serioso
Variation 10: Presto
Variation 11: Allegretto
Variation 12: Un Poco Piu Mosso
Variation 13: Vivace
Variation 14: Grave E Maetoso
Variation 15: Presto Scherzando
Variation 16: Allegro / Variation 17: Attacca
Variation 18: Poco Moderato
Variation 19: Presto
Variation 20: Andante
Variation 21: Allegro Con Brio
Variation 22: Allegro Molto
Variation 23: Allegro Assai
Variation 24: Fughetta - Andante
Variation 25: Allegro
Variation 26: (Piacevole)
Variation 27: Vivace
Variation 28: Allegro
Variation 29: Adagio Ma Non Troppo
Variation 30: Andante, Sempre Cantabile
Variation 31: Largo, Molto Espressivo
Variation 32: Fuga - Allegro
Variation 33: Tempo Di Menuetto, Moderato

Tracks:

Theme: Vivace
Variation 1: Alla Marcia, Maestoso
Variation 2: Poco Allegro
Variation 3: L'istesso Tempo
Variation 4: Un Poco Piu Vivace
Variation 5: Allegro Vivace
Variation 6: Allegro Ma Non Troppo E Serioso
Variation 7: Un Poco Piu Allegro
Variation 8: Poco Vivace
Variation 9: Allegro Ma Non Troppo E Serioso
Variation 10: Presto
Variation 11: Allegretto
Variation 12: Un Poco Piu Mosso
Variation 13: Vivace
Variation 14: Grave E Maetoso
Variation 15: Presto Scherzando
Variation 16: Allegro / Variation 17: Attacca
Variation 18: Poco Moderato
Variation 19: Presto
Variation 20: Andante
Variation 21: Allegro Con Brio
Variation 22: Allegro Molto
Variation 23: Allegro Assai
Variation 24: Fughetta - Andante
Variation 25: Allegro
Variation 26: (Piacevole)
Variation 27: Vivace
Variation 28: Allegro
Variation 29: Adagio Ma Non Troppo
Variation 30: Andante, Sempre Cantabile
Variation 31: Largo, Molto Espressivo
Variation 32: Fuga - Allegro
Variation 33: Tempo Di Menuetto, Moderato

Customer Reviews:

Not the first, but the only one currently available........2006-07-23

[Originally posted July 2006] This is not the first commercial recording of the Diabellis played on a fortepiano to be issued, but since that by Jörg Demus, on Archiv, was in the LP era, and has not been re-issued on CD yet, it is the only recording on such an instrument available, (funnily enough, Demus used a Graf from around the same time as that copied by R.J. Regier and used by Mr. Battersby). The two performances (Battersby's and Demus's) are very different, but each throws illumination on a work which has become somewhat encrusted with a patina associated with the modern grand piano. As others have, I find the performance on the fortepiano much the more interesting of the two offered by Edmund Battersby. Would that the Demus was also available for a different view, but Battersby's is well worth getting, to my ears.

[Update April 2007] - I now find there is a very fine CD of the Diabellis, coupled with the Op. 126 Bagatelles, played by Paul Komen (1824 Graf) on the Ars Musici label (AM 1382-2). I find it supperior in just about every respect, but would still recommend Battersby if cost is an important factor.

So nice to have.......2005-10-05

I bought this disc for the fortepiano rendition of the Diabelli Variations and I recommend this recording to all. Mr. Battersby's recording on a copy of a Konrad Graf fortepiano is one that I will be listening to and enjoying for many years to come. The music is played with great passion and verve.

I must confess that I am far less interested in the second CD which features Mr. Battersby playing the same work on a modern Steinway piano. I would have preferred a second disc containing more of Beethoven's piano works played on the Graf instrument - perhaps one of the late sonatas?
However, many will find the comparison interesting. Perhaps lovers of the HIP approach will regard the second disc as proof that the authentic instrument sounds better and those who scorn the period instrument approach will dutifully ignore the fortepiano disc?

The fortepiano disc is so good that I am tempted to give away the Steinway disc.

As far as I know, this is the only recording of the Diabelli Variations on a fortepiano.

Bravo, Naxos! And thank you so much, Mr. Battersby!
I hope this fine [forte]pianist makes many more recordings of Beethoven's music for Naxos in the future.

Battersby's Diabelli.......2005-09-16

First a disclosure. Edmund Battersby and I have been good friends for decades. However, it does not follow that I like everything he does.

I do like the Diabelli recording--very much in fact. It seems to me that it is a stunning acheivement both technically and musically. In particular: the relationship between drive and relaxation is supremely well brought out. Are there things I would do differently if I were able to play this piece (which I most definitely am not)? Yes, of coursse. No one with any knowledge of and feeling for a piece like this will agree with every aspect of any performance.

No matter. What you hear on this recording is exemplary and exciting (not necessarily the same thing), quite apart from the obvious interest of hearing the piece on both a modern and a contemporaneous instrument. Hence five stars.

Donald Mintz
Prof emeritus of music history
Montclair (NJ) State University

The 'Diabelli Variations' on a Graf Fortepiano Replica and a Steinway Piano.......2005-08-22

"The climax in the history of variations dates from the moment when Beethoven was just about to begin his Ninth Symphony, and received from A. Diabelli a waltz which that publisher was sending round to all the musicians in Austria..."
-- Donald Francis Tovey, in his essay on Variations in 'The Forms of Music'

Along with Bach's 'Goldberg Variations', Beethoven's 'Variations on a Theme by Anton Diabelli' are considered the high-water marks of keyboard variations, and the set has received many wonderful recordings. In preparation for this review I found myself listening, with great pleasure, to all or parts of recordings by upwards of a dozen master pianists of the last century, including Artur Schnabel, Rudolf Serkin, Claudio Arrau, Alfred Brendel, Maria Yudina, Sviatoslav Richter, Michael Oelbaum, Piotr Anderszewski and others. The occasion was this new release of two performances of the 'Diabelli Variations' by an American pianist, a professor at the highly-regarded School of Music at the University of Indiana, Edmund Battersby. What makes this release more interesting is that Battersby has recorded it both on a modern Steinway grand and on a modern replica of the last piano Beethoven owned, a wooden-framed fortepiano made in the 1820s by Austrian piano manufacturer, Conrad Graf. The replica was made in 1997 by R. J. Regier of Freeport, Maine, and is tuned at A430 in 'Tuner's Guide No. 3' temperament, 'chosen because it was not jarringly different from equal temperament but retains some of the coloration that well temperament bestows.'

The performance on the Steinway Grand is more or less in the mainstream of recorded performances. Battersby's technique is fully equal to the gargantuan demands of the set, and his playing is cleanly articulated and lightly pedaled. There is some occasional tempo instability and I must confess my overall reaction to his interpretation is that he doesn't bring anything particularly new or insightful to the music and thus is somewhat predictable. This performance would not be my first choice, by any means, but it is also quite acceptable. By far the greatest interest here is the performance on the fortepiano.

There have been other recordings on fortepiano, none of which I've heard. There apparently exists a recording made by Peter Komen on Beethoven's own Graf which has been restored and currently resides in Beethovenhaus in Bonn. Consequently I cannot comment on this recording vis-à-vis the others available. I found the Graf recording much more interesting than that of the Steinway, at least partly because I was intrigued by the sound of the instrument. I have not generally been terribly fond of other fortepiano recordings I've heard and I have not particularly sought them out. There is, however, a gentle piquancy to both the tone and the tuning of this piano (the latter courtesy of piano technician Rob Loomis) that brought me back with delight to this traversal. The recorded sound of both performances (made in an auditorium in a school in King City, Ontario) is lifelike and quite clean, with little room ambience.

The bottom line here is that this budget 2CD release will appeal primarily to those who are fond of fortepiano recordings, but probably will not attract those of us who have multiple recordings by great pianists like Arrau (my own favorite), Brendel, Serkin and Richter (another favorite, the live 1986 Amsterdam recording). For anyone curious to hear this work on fortepiano, this issue will not break their pocketbook, always a plus with Naxos releases.

2CDs, TT=1:42:31

Scott Morrison

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