Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Piano Variations

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Beethoven's WoO ('werke ohne opus', works without an opus number) numbers scare away a lot of listeners. They say, "Since Beethoven didn't care to give an opus number, he didn't care about it" or "Beethoven thought it was immature or second rate music." However, these are dazzling sets of variations, probably originating from Beethoven's live improvisations and therefore were not conceived to be published works (though most of them were published soon after they were written). Among these variations are some of the most challenging, creative, and wildly ingenious developments of piano technique of the 18th and early 19th centuries, the very same elements that would lay the foundations for Beethoven's 5 great Piano Concerti, his unsurpassed body of 32 piano sonatas, and his use of the piano in chamber music.

And so I disagree with Ms. Gerber's remark that Beethoven didn't take these pieces very seriously or that there are no hidden masterpieces here. Many of the variations are masterpieces in and of themselves! While the Variations WoO 65 and 66 (1790-1792) are clearly simpler and more tradiationally 'Viennese' than the later WoO 78 'God Save the King', WoO 79 'Rule Britannia', and WoO 80 'C minor'(1802-1806), there is quite a feast for your ears in each piece. These virtuosic variations are perfectly suited to the remarkable interprative and technical skills of two great Beethoven performers, John Ogdon and Emil Gilels. [Certainly, If people would venture to name the people who could overcome any technical barrier on the piano, Ogdon's name would be at the top of the list.] While this is mostly Ogdon's time to dazzle us with his fancy fingerwork, Gilels performs the best known of these works, the C minor Variations WoO 80 and the D major 'Turkish March' Variations op. 76 (1809), and also puts on an amazing show. You'll hear cascading scales and arpeggios, octave passages, pedal tones, trills, rapidly repeated notes, fugues, beautiful harmonization and voice leading, all of which come up in Beethoven's sonatas. (For examples, from WoO 79 the second variation foretells the opening of Sonata op. 109; the third variaion of cascading arpeggios is similar to a passage in the last movement of the Waldstein Sonata. Further examples abound, though the drama and form of these variations does not compare to the greatest among the sonatas.)

The EMI producers were wise to put each variation on its own track, just in case your ears want to hear those stunning pyrotechnics or harmonic twist again.

The liner notes are informative and concise though do not attempt, as I have, to portray the importance and ingenuity of these works. With 13 complete sets of Variations in 2 CDs, this disc is a must for a Beethoven collector, lovers of piano music, and will provide many hours of fun and satisfying listening for any music lover. This is a stunning EMI re-issue compilation, which at about 140 minutes, is a bargain. We are also fortunate that EMI has re-issued remasterings of several other great Ogdon recordings (Rachmaninoff piano music, Shostakovich concerti). Get this while you can, and then look for more Ogdon and Beethoven Sonatas.

The whole notion of variation is part of Beethoven's musical style. He works out ideas in so many inventive ways that we are often unaware of all the transformations he makes even when seemingly repeating a musical section. That is, until we pay really close attention and our wonderment grows. At least mine does.

Beethoven returned specifically to the piano variation form at least twenty times during his life. In his day it was a common challenge to performing virtuosi to be given a theme or popular tune of the day and to create improvised variations right then and there. Beethoven was a master at this. He wrote some of these down and published some of them. Many of them do not have specific opus numbers (the WoO numbers we see are those assigned afterwards and stands for Without Opus number).

I was introduced to Beethoven's variations on a collection of Beethoven's five piano concertos I bought with money I received for my 16th birthday. It was a collaboration with the great Emil Gilels and George Szell and the Cleveland Symphony. I treasure that set and wish it were available on CD. On the disks that didn't fill up both sides they included a few solo piano numbers and I became enamored of two of the variation sets. The famous 32 variations on a theme in c minor,the glorious 12 variations on a Russian dance by Wranitzky, and the ever popular variations on a Turkish March from Beethoven's own "The Ruins of Athens". Each is included in this collection. I love to play these sets from time to time. In fact, reading through both volumes of these twenty sets of variations with the two in the appendix has been one of the delights of my piano study over the years.

This wonderful collection contains thirteen of the twenty sets. The first disk has five sets recorded by the great John Ogden. I swear that man could play anything at any time. What a powerhouse. But here he also shows an amazingly sensitive and delicate touch to make his musical points. It has always been one of my views that Beethoven was so often about wit and humor as much as the pathos so many see in everything he did. Ogden is able to make that wit sparkle with just the touch of a couple of keys. While never crass, he can still make the music so delightful I laugh out loud. Ogden plays the sets WoO 78, 65 (which is the longest in this collection at just short of a half hour), 66, 68, and 70.

Emil Gilels has always been one of my pianist heroes. He was the first great pianist I ever heard in recital. What a revelation it was for me! I have heard so many since, but he is in my very top tier of pianists. He is a powerful pianist with the ability to also play with immense control even at the softest levels. For me, he also brings these variation sets into focus as complete pieces with a path through the set as a complete single piece rather than mere pearls strung together as a beautiful decoration. And it is important to notice that Beethoven has different styles of variations. Some are more about the decoration of the themes and others are more transformative of the musical elements of the theme. The latter are my favorites. Gilels plays WoO 79, 72, 73, 75, 77, 80 (the 32 variations in c minor), 71 (the 12 variations on a Russian theme), and Opus 76.

The big variations op 35 (the so-called Eroica or Prometheus variations) and the opus 120 Diabelli Variations are not included. You can find these in many other recordings by many artists. The other five not included are certainly worth hearing, but are simpler works often learned by student pianists.

I recommend this disk for anyone looking to expand their understand of this important part of Beethoven's pianistic repertoire. Very worthwhile and quite wonderful.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Saline, MI