Beethoven's Diabelli Variations are notable for their humor, especially in Variation XXII, which quotes Mozart's 'Notte e giorno faticar' from Don Giovanni as a jab at exploitative publishers.
Performer Biography
Imogen Cooper, the pianist on this recording, is internationally renowned for her virtuosity and lyricism, having performed with major orchestras worldwide and received the CBE and Instrumentalist Award of the Royal Philharmonic Society.
Composition History
The popular 'Für Elise' was composed around 1810 and reworked in the early 1820s, but its intended recipient remains a subject of speculation, with Therese Malfatti, Elisabeth Röckel, and Elise Barensfeld as candidates.
Composition History
Anton Diabelli, a prolific composer and music publisher, initiated the 'Vaterländischer Künstlerverein' project by sending his waltz to composers to gather variations for a compendium.
Compositional Technique
The Bagatelle No. 10 in Op. 119 is Beethoven's shortest work, lasting only a few seconds and fitting into a single system of printed music.
Composition History
Beethoven responded to Diabelli's invitation not with a single variation, as requested, but with an entire set of his own, which became the Thirty-three Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120.
Composition History
Beethoven interrupted work on the Diabelli Variations to fulfill commissions for three piano sonatas (Opp. 109, 110, 111) and the Missa solemnis for Archduke Rudolph, causing delays in all projects.
