Beethoven initially ridiculed the 'cobbler's patches' (Schusterflecken) of Diabelli's waltz theme but later transformed its 'banality' into a 'far greater concept' in his Diabelli Variations.
Performer Biography
Gary Cooper is a leading ambassador of the harpsichord and fortepiano, specializing in the music of Bach and Beethoven, and period performance.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Beethoven continued composing after becoming deaf, creating many of his finest works in a 'new-found world of profound silence' where his imagination created 'unadulterated music'.
Compositional Technique
Beethoven's Diabelli Variations are considered a musical counterpart to Bach's Goldberg Variations, a fact attested to in Diabelli's introduction to the first edition.
Performer Biography
Gary Cooper and Rachel Podger, a duo partnership, have received numerous awards for their recordings of Mozart's Complete Sonatas for Keyboard & Violin, including multiple Diapason d'Or awards.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Beethoven believed that artists create through enthusiasm and imagination, striking out 'seeds of knowledge' more brightly than philosophers who use reason.
Recording & Production
This recording uses a historic Viennese fortepiano by Anton Walter und Sohn, built in 1822, the same year Beethoven completed his Diabelli Variations.
You might also enjoy...
Journey with Beethoven
Beethoven: The Complete Piano Variations & Bagatelles
Beethoven: Variations
Beethoven: Early Piano Sonatas Opp. 2-7-10
Beethoven: Complete Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 14 – Variations & Klavierstücke
Beethoven: Sonatas Nos. 1, 18 & 30
Beethoven: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 13
Beethoven, L. Van: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-3
Ludwig van Beethoven: Complete Pianoforte Sonatas Vol.1
Beethoven, L. Van: Piano Works (Complete), Vol. 5 - Sonatas Nos. 16-18
Beethoven, L. Van: Piano Works (Complete), Vol. 1 - Sonatas Nos. 8-11
The Romantics, Vol. 24: Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Op. 49 Nos. 1 & 2, Op. 14 No. 2 & Op. 110
