Vaterländische Künstlerverein
Diabelli Variations
SKU:FE020
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Description
In Variations on a Theme by Diabelli, fifty composers from early nineteenth-century Vienna respond to a single waltz by Anton Diabelli. The result is a musical panorama as diverse as the city’s musical life itself: a dazzling assortment of études, character pieces, contrapuntal inventions, and lyrical miniatures, penned by composers ranging from Schubert, Liszt, and Hummel to forgotten pedagogues, aristocrats, and amateurs.
Originally conceived in 1819 as a patriotic fundraiser in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, the project—published under the title Vaterländischer Künstlerverein—brought together prominent professionals, child prodigies, and noble dilettantes in a shared artistic endeavour. Though Beethoven’s monumental Op. 120 would eventually overshadow the other contributions, the remaining fifty variations form a fascinating cross-section of the musical styles, techniques, and aesthetics active in Vienna around 1820.
This Urtext edition presents all fifty variations and Carl Czerny’s concluding coda in their original order, based on the first edition and critically revised. It combines scholarly precision with pianistic readability, offering insight into a rarely performed but historically significant repertoire. Whether approached as a collection of teaching pieces, a historical document, or a gallery of forgotten musical voices, the Diabelli Variations (Volume II) open a unique window onto Beethoven’s cultural environment.
Quick Overview
Composer: Various (ed. Anton Diabelli)
Edition: Urtext (FD020)
Pages: 122 (91 + XXXI) pages
Difficulty: Level 6–9
Editor: Martijn Vromans
About the Composer
About the Composer
The Vaterländischer Künstlerverein was a unique collective initiative that reflected the ideals of solidarity, patriotism, and artistic plurality in post-Napoleonic Vienna. Fifty composers—among them Schubert, Liszt, Hummel, Czerny, and lesser-known contemporaries—each contributed a single variation on Diabelli’s waltz. Though many names have faded into obscurity, their music offers a vivid portrait of a musical culture in transition: from Classicism to Romanticism, from salon to stage, from aristocratic hobbyist to professional virtuoso.
This edition restores the second volume of Diabelli’s project to its rightful place as a document of extraordinary variety and charm—less grand than Beethoven’s set, but no less revealing.
Contents
Contents
- Introduction (22 pages)
- Theme by Diabelli
- 50 Variations by various composers
- Coda by Carl Czerny
- Critical Commentary
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