Beethoven Edition, Vol. 20: Diabelli Variations, Op. 120

Featuring

Idil Biret
Ludwig van Beethoven

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Composition History

Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, Op. 120, were completed in 1823 and consisted of 33 variations, published as the first volume of a series by Diabelli's company.

Composition History

Anton Diabelli, an Austrian composer and publisher, invited Beethoven and other composers in Vienna to write a variation on a waltz he composed.

Album & Artwork

The IBA logo features an engraving by Albrecht Dürer, a gift sent to Idil Biret by Nadia Boulanger, a renowned French composer and teacher, with a personal inscription.

Compositional Technique

The original German title of the Diabelli Variations, '33 Veränderungen,' emphasizes 'changes' and 'transfiguring' the musical material, which Beethoven achieved through variations in time signature, dynamics, and expressive characters.

Performer Biography

Idil Biret, the pianist on this recording, made her first recordings at age eight in 1949 and has since released nearly 100 LPs and CDs, including complete piano works of Brahms, Chopin, and Rachmaninov.

Recording & Production

The Idil Biret Archive (IBA) is collecting her past and present recordings, re-releasing old recordings no longer commercially available, and issuing new ones, distributed worldwide by Naxos.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The Diabelli Variations, Beethoven's last great work for piano, is considered a summation of his piano works and the keyboard music of masters like Bach, Handel, and Mozart.