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Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn

 

 
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Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn
 
 
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The Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn, consisting of a theme
Theme (music)

In music, a theme is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based. It may be perceivable as a complete musical expression in itself, separate from the work in which it is found ....
 in B-flat major, eight variations
Variation (music)

In music, variation is a formal technique where material is altered during repetition: reiteration with changes. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre or orchestration....
 and a finale, was composed in the summer of 1873 by Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms , composer and pianist, was one of the leading musicians of the Romantic music. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene....
.

It was published in two versions: for two piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
s, written first but designated Op. 56b; and the same piece for orchestra
Orchestra

An orchestra is an Musical ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. The term orchestra derives from the name for the area in front of an theatre of ancient Greece reserved for the Greek chorus....
, referred to as Op. 56a.

The latter is considered to be "the first set of independent variations for orchestra in the history of music" .






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The Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn, consisting of a theme
Theme (music)

In music, a theme is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based. It may be perceivable as a complete musical expression in itself, separate from the work in which it is found ....
 in B-flat major, eight variations
Variation (music)

In music, variation is a formal technique where material is altered during repetition: reiteration with changes. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre or orchestration....
 and a finale, was composed in the summer of 1873 by Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms , composer and pianist, was one of the leading musicians of the Romantic music. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene....
.

It was published in two versions: for two piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
s, written first but designated Op. 56b; and the same piece for orchestra
Orchestra

An orchestra is an Musical ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. The term orchestra derives from the name for the area in front of an theatre of ancient Greece reserved for the Greek chorus....
, referred to as Op. 56a.

The latter is considered to be "the first set of independent variations for orchestra in the history of music" . It is scored for piccolo
Piccolo

The piccolo is a small flute. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger component, the flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written....
, 2 flute
Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
s, 2 oboe
Oboe

The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois", "hoboy", or "French hoboy"....
s, 2 clarinet
Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning a particular type of trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet....
s, 2 bassoon
Bassoon

The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the Bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher....
s, contrabassoon
Contrabassoon

The contrabassoon is a larger version of the bassoon sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences....
, 4 horn
Horn (instrument)

The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. It is descended from the natural horn and is informally known as the French horn....
s (2 in E flat, 2 in B flat), 2 trumpet
Trumpet

The trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest Register in the brass instrument family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC....
s, timpani
Timpani

Timpani are musical instruments in the percussion instrument family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a drumhead stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper, and more recently, constructed of more lightweight fiberglass....
, triangle
Triangle (instrument)

The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the Percussion instrument family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel in modern instruments, bent into a triangle shape....
, and the normal string section of first and second violin
Violin

The violin is a Bow string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
s, viola
Viola

The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.The casual observer may mistake the viola for the violin because of their similarity in size, closeness in pitch range , and nearly identical playing position....
s, cello
Cello

The violoncello is a bowed string instrument. A person who plays a cello is called a cellist. The cello is used as a solo instrument, in chamber music, and as a member of the string section of an orchestra....
s and double bass
Double bass

The double bass or contrabass is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow string instrument used in the modern orchestra. It is a standard member of the string section of the orchestra and smaller string musical ensembles in European classical music....
es.

The first performance of the orchestral version was given on 2 November 1873 by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Brahms's baton.

The piece usually takes about 18 minutes to perform.

Origin of the theme


Despite the title of the work, there has been much debate since about 1950 over whether the theme is actually by Haydn
Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn was an Austrians composer. He was one of the most prominent composers of the classical music era, and is called by some the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet"....
. In 1870, Brahms's friend Carl Ferdinand Pohl, the librarian of the Vienna Philharmonic Society, who was working on a Haydn biography at the time, showed Brahms a transcription he had made of a piece attributed to Haydn titled Divertimento No. 1. The second movement bore the heading "St. Anthony Chorale".

While current usage still prefers the original title, Variations on the St. Anthony Chorale is the name favored by those who object to possibly perpetuating a misattribution. Even that name, however, tells us very little. To date, no other mention of the so-called "St. Anthony Chorale" has been found. Some sources state the Divertimento was probably written by Ignaz Pleyel
Ignaz Pleyel

Ignace Joseph Pleyel was an Austria France composer of the Classical period ....
, but this has not been definitely established. Even so, a further question is whether the composer of the Divertimento actually wrote the "St. Anthony Chorale" or simply quoted an older theme taken from an unknown source.

Form


The theme begins with a repeated ten-measure passage which itself consists of two intriguing five-measure phrases, a quirk that is likely to have caught Brahms's attention. Almost without exception, the eight variations follow the phrasal structure of the theme and, though less strictly, the harmonic structure as well. Each has a distinctive character, several calling to mind the forms and techniques of earlier eras, with some displaying a mastery of counterpoint
Counterpoint

In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more Register that are independent in contour and rhythm, and interdependent in harmony....
 seldom encountered in Romantic
Romantic music

In music, romanticism is a term, often considered misleading, and concept derived from literature traditionally defined by attributes including, "interest in nature, medieval chivalry, mysticism, [and] remoteness [ Social alienation and Solitude]"....
 music. The finale is a magnificent passacaglia
Passacaglia

A passacaglia is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used by contemporary composers. Its character is usually grave and it is often, but not always, based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple-meter....
, itself a theme and variations on a ground bass, five measures in length, derived from the principal theme. Its culmination, a restatement of the chorale, is a moment of such transcendence that the usually austere Brahms permits himself the use of a triangle
Triangle (instrument)

The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the Percussion instrument family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel in modern instruments, bent into a triangle shape....
.

Just before the end of the piece, in the coda
Coda (music)

Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage which brings a piece to a conclusion....
 of the finale, Brahms quotes a passage that really is by Haydn. In mm. 463-464, the violas and cellos echo the cello line from m. 148 of the second movement of the latter's "Clock" Symphony
Symphony No. 101 (Haydn)

The Symphony No. 101 in D major is the ninth of the twelve so-called London Symphonies written by Joseph Haydn. It is popularly known as the The Clock because of the "ticking" rhythm throughout the second movement....
, one of the finest examples of Haydn's pioneering work in the symphonic variation
Variation (music)

In music, variation is a formal technique where material is altered during repetition: reiteration with changes. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre or orchestration....
 form. The reader may compare the two passages by following these links: , (see below for link credits). Ironically, this fragmentary allusion may be the music's sole remaining link to Haydn.

Movements


The movements are named and tempo markings given as follows. Where the tempo markings of the two versions differ, the one for Op. 56b is shown in parentheses.
  1. Thema. Chorale St. Antoni. Andante
  2. Variation I. Poco pił animato (Andante con moto)
  3. Variation II. Pił vivace (Vivace)
  4. Variation III. Con moto
  5. Variation IV. Andante con moto (Andante)
  6. Variation V. Vivace (Poco presto)
  7. Variation VI. Vivace
  8. Variation VII. Grazioso
  9. Variation VIII. Presto non troppo (Poco presto)
  10. Finale. Andante


Media

This is a performance of the version for two pianos. The pianists are Neal and Nancy O'Doan.

External links

  • The of Brahms's Variations has been posted by the at the . The same library is the source of the Haydn link included in the comparison above.