A lucky alignment of stars provided the impetus toward one of the first monumental cycles of cello repertoire – Beethoven’s towering Five Sonatas for Cello and Piano. The first two were composed for a 1796 promotional concert tour, when the young master from Bonn collaborated with one of the leading cellists of the period, Jean-Louis Duport. Immediately after the tour, Beethoven sketched a set of variations for cello and piano on a theme by Händel and was richly rewarded by Duport’s employer, King Friedrich Wilhelm II, who presented the composer with a gold snuffbox filled with louis d'or “such as would be appropriate for an ambassador”.A great admirer of Mozart, Beethoven revisited the cello and piano variation genre again, composing two additional sets of variations, this time on themes from the opera The Magic Flute. The Seven Variationsis the latter of the two, and is based on a duet between Papagena and Papageno (‘In men who feel love’), with the piano taking the female role, and the cello impersonating the male. The delicate sparkling exchanges, character transformations, and endless surprising twists lurk cleverly disguised under the seemingly orderly surface of this work.
Classical Music | Cello Music
Ludwig van Beethoven
Seven Variations on “Bei Mannern, welche Liebe fuhlen” from Die Zauberflote by Mozart Play
Recorded on 01/19/2011, uploaded on 06/13/2011
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
A lucky alignment of stars provided the impetus toward one of the first monumental cycles of cello repertoire – Beethoven’s towering Five Sonatas for Cello and Piano. The first two were composed for a 1796 promotional concert tour, when the young master from Bonn collaborated with one of the leading cellists of the period, Jean-Louis Duport. Immediately after the tour, Beethoven sketched a set of variations for cello and piano on a theme by Händel and was richly rewarded by Duport’s employer, King Friedrich Wilhelm II, who presented the composer with a gold snuffbox filled with louis d'or “such as would be appropriate for an ambassador”. A great admirer of Mozart, Beethoven revisited the cello and piano variation genre again, composing two additional sets of variations, this time on themes from the opera The Magic Flute. The Seven Variations is the latter of the two, and is based on a duet between Papagena and Papageno (‘In men who feel love’), with the piano taking the female role, and the cello impersonating the male. The delicate sparkling exchanges, character transformations, and endless surprising twists lurk cleverly disguised under the seemingly orderly surface of this work.
More music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Concerto No 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19, Third Movement (Rondo: Allegro molto)
Sonata No. 32 in c minor, Op. 111
Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101
Sonata No. 32 in c minor, Op. 111
Fantasie in g minor, Op. 77
33 Variations on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120
String Quartet Op. 131
String Quartet No. 11 in f minor, Op. 95, Serioso
Sonata for cello and piano in g minor, Op 5, No. 2
Theme and Seven Variations on "Bei Mannern" from Mozart's The Magic Flute, WoO 46
Performances by same musician(s)
Variations on a Theme by Rossini
Incident for Cello and Piano
Dance of the Elves
Introduction and Polonaise Brillante
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