COMPOSERS: Beethoven/Etc
LABELS: Teldec
WORKS: Variations on Diabelli’s waltz
PERFORMER: Rudolf Buchbinder (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: 0630-17388-2 ADD 1973
Diabelli sent his little waltz-tune to about fifty fellow composers, asking each to write a variation on it. The story of Beethoven’s disdainful refusal, his subsequent change of heart and the towering 33 Variations he eventually produced, is well known. They’re on these discs, and so are all the others, from famous composers like Schubert, Hummel and the the 11-year-old Liszt, to unknowns like Czapek and Mayseder, and aristocrats like Baron von Mosel and Beethoven’s patron and pupil, the Archduke Rudolph. Buchbinder’s Beethoven doesn’t displace Kovacevich in my affections, but it’s a very fine performance. The ‘other’ variations are a delight. Wadham Sutton
Beethoven/Etc: Variations on Diabelli's waltz
Diabelli sent his little waltz-tune to about fifty fellow composers, asking each to write a variation on it. The story of Beethoven’s disdainful refusal, his subsequent change of heart and the towering 33 Variations he eventually produced, is well known. They’re on these discs, and so are all the others, from famous composers like Schubert, Hummel and the the 11-year-old Liszt, to unknowns like Czapek and Mayseder, and aristocrats like Baron von Mosel and Beethoven’s patron and pupil, the Archduke Rudolph.
Our rating
5
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:41 pm