Beethoven. Diabelli Variations. Op. 120

[pastoralguy]

I recently purchased the new Mitsuko Uchida recording of this masterpiece having heard her play it at the Edinburgh Festival three years ago. It’s a work I really struggle with and I’d hoped this new recording might give me an appreciation of it. However, it’s just not working for me.

I ordered the Uchida cd from Presto along with a cd that’s not released until the beginning of May so I’m still awaiting the physical disc but I have been listening to it repeatedly on my iPhone whilst doing particularly mind numbing tasks while on night shift at my place of employment. Not the best environment to gain appreciation of one of the great masterpieces but it’s what I’ve got.

My next move is to borrow the music from the public library where perhaps the eye will assist the ear. What am I not getting about this piece? Goodness knows, I love the piano sonatas so this should be easy.

[Mandryka]

I too have been listening to Uchida’s new release. The thing about it is this: she plays it as a series of etudes almost. There doesn’t seem to be a sense of any architecture within the set of variations, and there doesn’t seem to be any fluidity from one variation to the next. I’m not saying that’s a weakness by the way, it’s a perfectly reasonable point of view IMO - no one has managed to really explain Beethoven’s ordering - though it clearly was important to him, no one knows why.

One way into the music is to see it as a long difficult journey, marked by various moments of reflection. A sort of Winterreise, - though not necessarily winter! From this point of view the end is particularly enigmatic - after all that struggle to get to the end we are left with a sort of whimsical joke in the final variation. That to me adds to the interest of the piece.

[pastoralguy]

Many thanks for your reply, Mandryka. I should have added that I’ve several other recordings and none of them have provided much more clarity.

[Mandryka]

Here’s my list of favourite recordings - nothing follows about the quality of the performances, and anyway it’s about 5 years since I last updated the list. I should also say that I’m not normally much of a Beethoven person, but there are one or two pieces which have caught my attention as being interesting over the years - this, op 131, some of the violin sonatas, maybe others.

Top recordings


Koroliov
Leonard Shure (Epic)
Michael Oelbaum
Rosen
Kuerti
Sokolov
Pollini (live preferably)
Horszowski
Daria Rabotkina
Bernard Roberts
S Richter (Prague)
Nikolayeve 1979
Brendel 2001
Kovacevich (Onyx)
Hans Petermandl

Need to revisit to get my head round

Vieru
Arrau (2 recordings)
Cooper
Gulda (2 recordings)
Ciani
Katchen
R Serkin (live and.studio)
Pludermacher
Rangell
Sheppard
John Browning
Mustonen




Fine but not special for me

Schiff
Anderszewski
Lefébure
Frith
Lewis
Yudina
Ugorski



Don't much want to hear again

Schnabel
Backhaus
S Richter (1950s)
Komen
Afanassiev
Kinderman
Korstick
Richter-Haaser
Brendel 1977
Leonard Shure (audiofon)


Haven't heard and want to hear

Nikolayeva 1981
Kovacevich (Philips)
Amadeus Webersinke

[Mandryka]

And here’s an essay on structure which I thought was valuable , by Filippo Gorini

In 1819, Anton Diabelli, composer, publisher and copyist, asked a number of Viennese musicians
to contribute one variation each on a theme of his own composition. Beethoven, while at first
apparently disregarding this project, decided instead to compose a monumental cycle of 33
variations, a work now commonly compared to Bach’s Goldberg Variations for its originality,
mastery and size. It was completed and published in 1823. Meanwhile, Beethoven had composed
such masterpieces as the last three piano sonatas and the Missa Solemnis, and was about to
finish the Ninth Symphony just one year later.

While the Goldberg Variations restate the Aria at the end, giving a cyclic, orphic shape to the
whole set, the Diabelli are more directional in their architecture, leading us from the mundane
foundations of the theme to the pinnacle of the celestial minuet. Throughout this journey,
Beethoven explores the human nature in its diversity, not disregarding the use of traditionally
incompatible modes of expression: from dance to frenzy, from mockery to sober contemplation,
from bold energy to mysterious depths, from grieving to joy. In this mixed tone, the variations
could also be taken as the supreme example of comedy in music, a comedy of positive (but not
necessarily light) character that ranges from humble to sublime. There is a redemptive quality to
this spiralling dance that seems to lift us to the heavens, and reminds us of Beethoven’s love and
hope for humanity, emblematic in Schiller’s Ode to Joy.

Beethoven approaches the theme with unparalleled audacity, at times maintaining only its most
basic structural elements in the variations. With the exception of one double variation, each of the pieces springs up with its particular character and function within an architecture that, in
our opinion, can be divided into four large arcs. The theme itself is a simple waltz, bold and
unpretentious. What characterizes it in particular are its upbeat figures, harmonic structure,
dance rhythm, repeated chords and division into two distinct halves, each with repeats – features
that are selectively used by Beethoven as a basis for the variations.
This first of these arcs is of a bright character that leaves little room for introverted thought. The
opening march (var. 1), immediately attacks the theme head-on, disregarding its metre, tempo
and temperament, and setting up the grandeur necessary to open such a large-scale work. The
subsequent variations start with the light, vibrant landscape of var. 2, and mutate slowly, becoming
first more expressive and then gradually more excited and energetic. After an intermezzo (nr. 8)
that breaks the accumulated tension with a softly sung melody over gentle, rocking arpeggios,
nr. 9 erupts in spectacular fashion: one of the rare c minor pieces, its brusque character is based
entirely on the upbeat figure of the theme. The explosive conclusion to this arc comes with nr. 10,
a virtuosic parade of staccato chords and octaves over suspended tremoli.

The second arc is very different from the first: instead of creating one long climactic series of
variations, it jolts with bursts of energy that are quickly interrupted by slower pieces, and ends
in complete mystery. It starts, as it were, from nothing, with the very soft and expressive var.
11 and a mobile, luminescent nr. 12, interrupted by the humoristic nr. 13, a parody of a waltz
stripped of its melody and left bare with only its rhythms, harmonies and silences. After a very
serious, sublime var. 14, the following pieces are at first lighthearted, then virtuosic and filled
with tremendous energy. An extremely expressive nr. 18 and the dazzling canon of nr. 19 give
room to the mysterious nr. 20: a slow piece made of grave chords with impenetrable harmonies.
It concludes this second arc in a shroud of enigma.

The third arc is the most capricious, with cunning parodies, a sublime fughetta and the tour de
force of variations 27 and 28. It begins, after the inner sanctuary of var. 20, with nr. 21 in a wellnigh comic alternation of energetic outbursts and plaintive elements. Nr. 22, the most obvious
parody within the Diabelli, turns Mozart’s famous aria “Notte e giorno faticar” into a sneeze; on a
more subtle level, “working night and day for someone who appreciates nothing” is also a hidden
jab at Diabelli for pressuring him to finish the set. After var. 23, a stunning parody of technical
exercises, var. 24, a fughetta, makes a drastic leap in character and transports us into a spiritual
world. As refined as rigorous in craft, it is one of the most breathtaking events in the set. A lively
German dance (nr. 25) and an atmospheric var. 26 precede the frenetic nrs. 27 and 28 that
conclude this arc with incredible power.

The last arc is sublime, leading to the celestial conclusion. Var. 29 begins a series of three slow
variations in c minor: a faint but insistent sob is followed by a contemplative, flowing song of
dignified grief. Var. 31, the great Largo with its free and flourished singing, is a desperate prayer
in an hour of darkness, a veritable de profundis. Var. 32, a double fugue, then marks a stunning
rebirth: in E Flat, it comes as a dramatic surprise. Its insistent rhythm and bold nature accumulate
momentum before crashing on a dissonance. Following a few suspended chords, the minuet (var.
33) unfolds, a graceful dance filled with the voices of angels. Long gone is the rough enthusiasm
of the theme: we have arrived in a realm of spirit and beauty. The coda appears to peter out into
a void; however, as our voyage has finally found its destination, a sonorous chord brings us firmly
back to earth.

[Bryn]

A favourite work for me. There are, as Mandryka suggests, many approaches to it. Andreas Staier even went for 'bells and whistles' on his Conrad Graf copy. As I opined at the time of Uchida's new recording being introduced on Record Review a few weeks ago, I found what I heard as rather mannered. However, I am currently importing it from QOBUZ in order to get to hear the whole thing.

[Lordgeous]

Here’s my list of favourite recordings - nothing follows about the quality of the performances, and anyway it’s about 5 years since I last updated the list. I should also say that I’m not normally much of a Beethoven person, but there are one or two pieces which have caught my attention as being interesting over the years - this, op 131, some of the violin sonatas, maybe others.

Top recordings


Koroliov
Leonard Shure (Epic)
Michael Oelbaum
Rosen
Kuerti
Sokolov
Pollini (live preferably)
Horszowski
Daria Rabotkina
Bernard Roberts
S Richter (Prague)
Nikolayeve 1979
Brendel 2001
Kovacevich (Onyx)
Hans Petermandl

Need to revisit to get my head round

Vieru
Arrau (2 recordings)
Cooper
Gulda (2 recordings)
Ciani
Katchen
R Serkin (live and.studio)
Pludermacher
Rangell
Sheppard
John Browning
Mustonen




Fine but not special for me

Schiff
Anderszewski
Lefébure
Frith
Lewis
Yudina
Ugorski



Don't much want to hear again

Schnabel
Backhaus
S Richter (1950s)
Komen
Afanassiev
Kinderman
Korstick
Richter-Haaser
Brendel 1977
Leonard Shure (audiofon)


Haven't heard and want to hear

Nikolayeva 1981
Kovacevich (Philips)
Amadeus Webersinke

Stephen B Kovacevich (Philips) is magnificent, much prefered to his later version, though that's also pretty good. Wonderful piece, following Beethoven's train of thought as the work progresses is fascinating.

[pastoralguy]

Many thanks for the replies and help.

[richardfinegold]

It’s always been Rosen for me.

[Bryn]

It’s always been Rosen for me.

I recall getting that when it was released on LP, then buying the bargain CD when that appeared. A very fine performance, though necessarily lacking the timbral variations of register found in the instruments Beethoven was familiar with and exploited. Hearing the Demus recording (Graf 1839, similar in construction to Beethoven's last piano) was a revelation for me:



and I jumped at the opportunity to get it on CD, too, when the Australian Eloquence label released it a few years ago:



That said, it has largely been eclipsed by more recent recordings on the sort of instrument it was composed for, such as those from Brautigam, Staier, Schiff (coupled with a recording on modern piano), et al.

I listened to the Uchida last night and hearing the full work moderated my criticism, somewhat, though its import will soon be deleted, I fear.

[gradus]

A few years Uchida performed the Diabelli and afterwards gave a lecture on her approach to the work. I saw her in Cambridge but I think she repeated it at various venues. Unfortunately It is not a work that I have lived with for donkeys years so have no other versions in my head with which to compare her interpretation, but as a novice I found her approach captivating as is almost everything that she plays.

[Bryn]

Further to the update to #10, there is a recording on CD, by Paul Komen, which used Beethoven's last Graf at the Beethoven-Haus, Bonn:

[Bryn]

The booklet notes to Staier's recording are well worth reading, especially the questions to and answers from Staier, the blatant inaccuracy regarding the asserted lack of recordings using a fortepiano notwithstanding:

https://static.qobuz.com/goodies/82/000017728.pdf

[richardfinegold]

I only have a few Diabelli recordings so I can’t claim anywhere near the breadth of experience others have. The first was Brendel on Vox. I think I read that he learned the piece for the recording. I have the big Brendel box containing his Phillips work and I believe that it has two recordings, both so much more knowing than the Vox. I have Arrau, in mono, and Rosen. I have heard recordings by Backhaus and Schnabel that liked, also in mono. Rosen for me seems to capture the bumptious humor the best. I might try to stream an HIPP recording pace Bryn, as I have never heard one

[Bryn]

I only have a few Diabelli recordings so I can’t claim anywhere near the breadth of experience others have. The first was Brendel on Vox. I think I read that he learned the piece for the recording. I have the big Brendel box containing his Phillips work and I believe that it has two recordings, both so much more knowing than the Vox. I have Arrau, in mono, and Rosen. I have heard recordings by Backhaus and Schnabel that liked, also in mono. Rosen for me seems to capture the bumptious humor the best. I might try to stream an HIPP recording pace Bryn, as I have never heard one

Regarding the false claim in one of the questions posed to Staier, the Demus, Battersby, Cooper and Komen recordings all predate the Staier, though none of them had the access to the manuscript that Staier had. Oh, and beware, Variariation 23 in the Staier might get you jumping out of your seat.