The Long LineThe Long Line

Johannes Brahms

Two Sets of Variations for piano, op. 21

Op. 21 Composed 1857

The Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, is a work for solo piano written by Johannes Brahms in 1861. It consists of a set of twenty-five variations and a concluding fugue, all based on a theme from George Frideric Handel's Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in B♭ major, HWV 434. They are known as his Handel Variations.
The music writer Donald Tovey has ranked it among "the half-dozen greatest sets of variations ever written". Biographer Jan Swafford describes the Handel Variations as "perhaps the finest set of piano variations since Beethoven", adding, "Besides a masterful unfolding of ideas concluding with an exuberant fugue with a finish designed to bring down the house, the work is quintessentially Brahms in other ways: the filler of traditional forms with fresh energy and imagination; the historical eclectic able to start off with a gallant little tune of Handel's, Baroque ornaments and all, and integrate it seamlessly into his own voice, in a work of massive scope and dazzling variety."
The autograph manuscript of the work is preserved in the Library of Congress.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Movements

  1. Variations on an Original Theme in D major, op. 21 no. 1: Variations on an Original Theme, op. 21 no. 1: Thema. Poco larghetto
  2. Variations on an Original Theme in D major, op. 21 no. 1: Variations on an Original Theme, op. 21 no. 1: Variation I
  3. Variations on an Original Theme in D major, op. 21 no. 1: Variations on an Original Theme, op. 21 no. 1: Variation II. Più moto
  4. Variations on an Original Theme in D major, op. 21 no. 1: Variations on an Original Theme, op. 21 no. 1: Variation III. L’istesso tempo
  5. Variations on an Original Theme in D major, op. 21 no. 1: Variations on an Original Theme, op. 21 no. 1: Variation IV
  6. Variations on an Original Theme in D major, op. 21 no. 1: Variations on an Original Theme, op. 21 no. 1: Variation V. Tempo di tema
  7. Variations on an Original Theme in D major, op. 21 no. 1: Variations on an Original Theme, op. 21 no. 1: Variation VI. Più moto
  8. Variations on an Original Theme in D major, op. 21 no. 1: Variations on an Original Theme, op. 21 no. 1: Variation VII. Andante con moto
  9. Variations on an Original Theme in D major, op. 21 no. 1: Variations on an Original Theme, op. 21 no. 1: Variation VIII. Allegro non troppo
  10. Variations on an Original Theme in D major, op. 21 no. 1: Variations on an Original Theme, op. 21 no. 1: Variation IX
  11. Variations on an Original Theme in D major, op. 21 no. 1: Variations on an Original Theme, op. 21 no. 1: Variation X
  12. Variations on an Original Theme in D major, op. 21 no. 1: Variations on an Original Theme, op. 21 no. 1: Variation XI. Tempo di tema, poco più lento
  13. Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Thema. Poco larghetto, poco forte, molto espressivo e legato
  14. Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variation I
  15. Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variation II
  16. Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variation III
  17. Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variation IV
  18. Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variation V: Con espressione
  19. Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variation VI
  20. Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variation VII: Poco più lento, dolce espressivo/quasi pizzicato
  21. Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variation VIII: Ancora un poco più lento Espressivo, dolce
  22. Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variation IX: Dolce
  23. Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variation X: Legato, dolce
  24. Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variation XI: Dolce
  25. Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variation XII: Espressivo
  26. Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variationen über ein ungarishes Lied D-dur, op. 21 nr. 2: Variation XIII: Con forza - Allegro - Tempo I più animato

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