Show Notes
The Keys to Music podcast continues its survey of Beethoven’s music by exploring the Diabelli Variations.
The thirty-three "Diabelli" variations on a waltz by the Viennese composer and publisher Anton Diabelli (1781-1858, pictured) make up what many people regard as Beethoven's greatest work. It's certainly the most visionary and exciting set of piano variations of the 19th century.
Beethoven called the variations "Veränderungen" which can mean "transformations" as much as "variations", and herein perhaps lies the key to this piece. Far from being a clever but predictable set of variations on a precictable and not-terribly-clever tune, Beethoven created thirty-three miniatures which each take one aspect or another of Diabelli's waltz as an evolutionary springboard for a completely new piece.
The result is one of the most challenging and unusual piano works from any era. This program uses the 2010 recording made in Sydney by Gerard Willems.
More from 1000 Years of Classical Music
Tchaikovsky's fifth symphony, written in 1888, is a work which arouses hugely divergent opinions. Many people love it dearly, and the famous horn solo in the second movement is often cited as an example of how to write a beautiful melody. Many others can't stand it, finding it over-emotional, over-sentimental, and repetitive.
Tchaikovsky's fourth symphony ranks as one of the most popular symphonies ever written.