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As is his custom, Andreas Staier has gone back to the original manuscript of one of the most famous sets of variations in history: Beethoven s 'Diabelli Variations'. He has not however, restricted his work to recording the magnum opus, since the CD begins with a selection of variations written by some of the other 50 composers Diabelli asked to take part in his project. Here you can discover the very first stirrings of Liszt s virtuosity (aged 11), the music of Mozart s son, the unexpected variations of Kreutzer and Kalkbrenner, and the 'Diabelli Variation' of a certain Franz Schubert. A thrilling musical investigation with Andreas Staier's own 'Introduction'. "My intention with the Introduction was to create a sound-space that separates the twelve preludes , from Czerny to Schubert, from Beethoven s great cycle. It s a pause for breath in what is otherwise rigorously composed music. So I think the improvisatory element is perfectly appropriate here. And that way one can ensure that Diabelli s waltz has the necessary freshness the second time it s played. I keep to the essence of what can be made out from Beethoven s sketch of 1819, and stay close to the theme. The striking three-note motif with the combination of the intervals of a semitone and a rising third suggests an echo of the finale from the Piano Sonata in D major op.10 no.3. But I didn t develop the interval of the descending fourth in the sketch because it s so clearly presented by Beethoven himself in the very first variation... This fascinating manuscript allows us to infer Beethoven s choleric and impatient sides, but not the ironic side to his character. The annotations show his worries and difficulties during a pretty laborious process of composition. What began as a fair copy increasingly turns into a working manuscript. With the dynamics of the handwriting and the many corrections and erasures, it provides a whole range of pointers to the composer s intentions. It s a treasure trove for the interpreter." Andreas Staier
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HMF 902091; HARMONIA MUNDI - Francia; Classica da camera Piano
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By FL Traverso
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The studio recording of the Diabelli Variations by Andreas Staier is amazing. It took me a long time to track down a recording of this work that I'm entirely satisfied with on an instrument of the kind that Beethoven knew. Andrew Clements: "Staier's variations of touch and tone and the nuances of his pedalling would be remarkable on a modern concert grand, let alone such an early instrument, while he is always alert to the ways in which he can articulate and alter the pacing of what can seem a forbidding span of music. " Indeed this is an extraordinary performance, especially for those who are curious about just how much a fortepiano is capable of in the right hands.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
There are many versions of the Diabelli available, but this comfortably holds its own with the best (among which I would include Paul Lewis, Nikolyeva, Anderzewski to pick a few.) Staier is a superb pianist, and sails effortlessly through what is a very difficult piece of music. Two things make this cd especially interesting.
The first is the inclusion of variations written by other composers who were asked to contribute. They are competent and interesting enough, but show the different league that Beethoven was in compared to most of his contemporaries. (The Liszt variation, apparently written when he was 12, is an amazingly virtuosic piece from one so young.)
The second is the instrument used - a fortepiano with plenty of range and volume, and with some interesting effects used occasionally. One sounds as if the whole instrument is about to collapse.
I won't rabbit on about what Staier does with each variation, but he's obviously put a lot of work and thought into the performance, and the whole thing hangs together and flows beautifully.
Get it - you'll probably love it as much as I do.
The first is the inclusion of variations written by other composers who were asked to contribute. They are competent and interesting enough, but show the different league that Beethoven was in compared to most of his contemporaries. (The Liszt variation, apparently written when he was 12, is an amazingly virtuosic piece from one so young.)
The second is the instrument used - a fortepiano with plenty of range and volume, and with some interesting effects used occasionally. One sounds as if the whole instrument is about to collapse.
I won't rabbit on about what Staier does with each variation, but he's obviously put a lot of work and thought into the performance, and the whole thing hangs together and flows beautifully.
Get it - you'll probably love it as much as I do.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I have never regarded the Diabelli Variations as being top-tier Beethoven. Given how much I enjoy the artistry of Andreas Staier, I leapt upon this copy at the library: here was an opportunity to move it up the ranks. Staier plays a fortepiano `after Conrad Graf' - I presume this is an instrument that Beethoven would have recognized - whatever that means in a mundane sense. Before I move onto the disc, let's digress.
My `Beloved Adversary' on Amazon recently made a point.
`Of course "we" all assume that [Composer X] knew what he was doing and therefore `we have become ever more assiduous in matching his intentions, performing his works on instruments he would have recognized, with tempi and articulation that he would have chosen, mastering . . . techniques that he would have relished.'
To my mind, this is 'flat earth-ish' at best. Auden tells us that `we are lived by the powers we pretend to understand.' In many a creation, there is more content than what its creator intended - the muse is the ultimate determinant as to scope and its translation into meaning. Elsewhere, Virginia Woolf famously told us that human nature changed on the eve of Armageddon. If so - if so - how is one to measure the abyss that lies between our Weltanschauung (world view) and that of Beethoven's audience in the late 1820s in Imperial Vienna? What does this all mean? I suggest this: it is pernicious to think that we can encompass if not enmesh Beethoven merely by playing one of his works stylishly on an instrument of his time. Any art that is not able to transcend the circumstances of its genesis to address later generations on their own terms and mysteriously so is an art that warrants the scrutiny of bald-headed scholars and listeners alike and that's about it.... Read more ›
My `Beloved Adversary' on Amazon recently made a point.
`Of course "we" all assume that [Composer X] knew what he was doing and therefore `we have become ever more assiduous in matching his intentions, performing his works on instruments he would have recognized, with tempi and articulation that he would have chosen, mastering . . . techniques that he would have relished.'
To my mind, this is 'flat earth-ish' at best. Auden tells us that `we are lived by the powers we pretend to understand.' In many a creation, there is more content than what its creator intended - the muse is the ultimate determinant as to scope and its translation into meaning. Elsewhere, Virginia Woolf famously told us that human nature changed on the eve of Armageddon. If so - if so - how is one to measure the abyss that lies between our Weltanschauung (world view) and that of Beethoven's audience in the late 1820s in Imperial Vienna? What does this all mean? I suggest this: it is pernicious to think that we can encompass if not enmesh Beethoven merely by playing one of his works stylishly on an instrument of his time. Any art that is not able to transcend the circumstances of its genesis to address later generations on their own terms and mysteriously so is an art that warrants the scrutiny of bald-headed scholars and listeners alike and that's about it.... Read more ›
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The most 'in tune' fortepiano I've ever heard. This is good music but not great and yes there are saucepans in there. I'd rather listen to a Stephen Bishop Kovacevich version. What makes this a really interesting buy is some of the other variations written by composers of the day. The 11 year old Liszt's version is very precocious. A number of lesser known composers tried some really adventurous harmonies which perhaps is a comment on why Beethoven picked this theme to write the greatest set of variations of all time. Then rather cheekily Steier writes a kind of fantasia which leads without pause into the Diabelli theme. Would he have done this if Beethoven had written it? Probably not!
0 of 36 people found the following review helpful
By Adrian
Format:Audio CD
The live recording of the Diabelli Variations by Grigory Sokolov is amazing. It took me a long time to track down a recording of this work that I'm entirely satisfied with. I feel that Richter plays the Diabelli Variations far too quickly. Just listen to the last variation to see what I mean. The less said about Anderszewski the better.
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