Beethoven: Diabelli Variations Op. 120

From 1819 to 1823, Anton Diabelli spent a great deal of time backstage in the theaters of Vienna and going around the town looking for anyone who could call himself a composer. His aim was to get each one to write a variation on little waltz he had written and to publish all the pieces in a single collection. Diabelli did very well. By 1823, he had managed to get fifty-one contestants. All of them had agreed with his terms, except, who at first refused to take part in the enterprise. Then, he changed his mind and decided to write a handful of variations, ending up by providing thirty-three in all. But does Opus 120 really consists of thirty-three variations on a theme by Diabelli ? If the word 'theme' really has to be used, it would be better not to talk about 'variations', for they are more in the nature of shavings fallen from a plank that has been planed for some considerable time. This is the key to the work: Opus 120 is based not so much on divergence from a theme as convergence towards Diabelli's little waltz. (Naïve Records) ==================================== Works on This Recording 1. Variations (33) for Piano on a Waltz by Diabelli in C major, Op. 120 by Ludwig van Beethoven ■ Performer: Grigory Sokolov (Piano) ■ Period: Classical ■ Written: 1819-1823; Vienna, Austria ■ Date of Recording: 06/1985 ■ Venue: Glinka Chapel Saint Petersburg ■ Length: 53 Minutes 7 Secs.