Eroica variations

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The so-called Eroica Variations (15 variations with Finale alla Fuga ) op. 35 are in E flat major and are a variation work for piano by Ludwig van Beethoven .

General

As Beethoven's sketches show, he composed these variations in July and August 1802, roughly at the same time as the 2nd Symphony and the 3rd Piano Concerto . On October 18, 1802, he offered them to the Breitkopf & Härtel publishing house for printing and described them as "edited in a really new way".

The theme comes from the contretances for orchestra WoO 14 (No. 7) and was already used by Beethoven in the ballet music for The Creatures of Prometheus . That is why it is also called the Prometheus theme . This cycle was only given the name Eroica Variations in retrospect, because Beethoven also uses it in the finale of his 3rd symphony , the Eroica , which is also created in the form of variations.

music

  • Introduzione col Basso del Tema :
Bass as theme: "Prometheus theme"
This introduction begins with an E flat major chord in fortissimo , after which it is continued in pianissimo . In the symphony there is a contrapuntal string introduction for this chord (also in fortissimo ). The Introduzione to the Variations consists of an antecedent and a subsequent clause, each in eight bars with a half-close and a full-close . As the title suggests, it only contains the bass line of the theme .
  • Variations 1-3
The next three pieces are not yet marked as variations , only additional voices are added. Accordingly, they are also called a due , a tre and a quattro , i.e. H. two-part, three-part, four-part. The systematic structure of these movements also emerges from the fact that the themed bass appears in succession in tenor, alto and soprano.
  • theme
Now the theme comes up, a melody in E flat major ( dolce ).
  • Variations I-XIII
Beethoven uses different types of variations, which refer in different ways to the melody, bass and / or harmony and rhythm of the theme, starting with figural variations and then gradually applying freer variation techniques. Variation VI, in which the theme melody is almost unchanged in the upper part, but is harmonized in C minor instead of E flat major, deserves particular interest. Variation VII is (apart from the middle section) a strict canon in the octave, in Variations VIII to X, XII and XIII new tonal possibilities of the piano setting are opened up.
  • Variation XIV and XV, finale
The fourteenth variation brings the bass of the theme in the minor (minor) and in the upper part. The XV is a richly decorated Largo , again in major ( Maggiore ) and in 6/8 time. This is followed by a short coda that approaches the theme again and then a finale: Alla Fuga , with the fugue theme arising from the beginning of the themed bass. After a three-part fugue , in which the beginning of the variation theme appears as a counterpoint and which ends with a brilliant increase after the theme reversal has been carried out, the piece ends with two further complete theme variations (but not explicitly identified as such in the notes) ( Andante con moto ), of which the first is closest to the original theme and therefore seems like a reminiscence of the beginning, while in the last the theme melody is in the left hand. In both variations the theme melody remains practically unchanged and is only accompanied in different ways. As a result, this finale also forms a counterpart to the introductory section, in which the themed bass also sounded unchanged in different registers and with different accompaniment.

See also

literature

  • Christopher Reynolds, Beethoven's Sketches for the Varations in Eb Op. 35 , in: Beethoven Studies , Volume 3, ed. by Alan Tyson , New York 1982, pp. 47–84 (digitized version )

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ludwig van Beethoven, Correspondence. Complete edition , Volume 1, ed. by Sieghard Brandenburg , Munich 1996, p. 126

Web links