{"id":45882,"date":"2024-08-07T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/db7a47b3-0839-450e-a90e-f3a82e9e034c"},"modified":"2024-08-07T13:07:14","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T11:07:14","slug":"the-7-greatest-musical-variations-ever-written","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/the-7-greatest-musical-variations-ever-written\/","title":{"rendered":"The 7 greatest musical variations ever written"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 07 August 2024 at 10:00 AM<\/p>

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What are the best musical variations on a theme? German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser selects his favourite variations in classical music, from Bach to Britten.<\/strong><\/p>

What are variations in music?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
Edward Elgar – Enigma Variations<\/em><\/h2>In Elgar<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Cello Concerto<\/a><\/strong> the composer decries the loss of his world in the aftermath of World War I. In the Enigma<\/em> Variations<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, written 20 years earlier, he takes us into the middle of that world, writing about his surroundings and the people in his life. The result feels very personal: like an invitation to an afternoon party with good friends. I love that he\u2019s not shy about depicting their eccentricities as well as the warmth of his feelings towards them.<\/p>
5 theories for the unsolved mystery of Elgar’s Enigma Variations<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/li>
‘Nimrod’ Guide: all you need to know about the emotional masterpiece from Elgar’s Enigma Variations<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Daniel Barenboim conducts Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ from his Enigma Variations<\/em> with the Chicago Symphony<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-rococo-variations\">Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky \u2013 Rococo Variations<\/em><\/h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/mozart\">Mozart<\/a><\/strong> was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/tchaikovsky\">Tchaikovsky<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s favourite composer, and this piece is a reverie to Mozartean style as viewed through the particular lens of Tchaikovsky. We tend to associate Tchaikovsky with an enormous outpouring of emotion. But in the Rococo Variations<\/em> there is a sense of restraint, reminding us that Tchaikovsky was not just the composer who wrote the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/tchaikovskys-symphony-no-6-pathetique-brings-his-life-to-a-close\">\u2018Path\u00e9tique\u2019<\/strong> Symphony<\/strong><\/a> but also the ballet composer, capable of lightness and elegance. It is a piece that changed my life after I received a special prize for performing it at the Tchaikovsky Competition.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-cello-concertos-of-all-time\">10 best cello concertos of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-benjamin-britten-variations-on-a-theme-of-frank-bridge\">Benjamin Britten – Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge<\/em><\/h2>People say that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/benjamin-britten-composer\">Britten<\/a><\/strong> developed into a master composer after the Second World War, when his music became edgier and darker. But I love this example of pre-war Britten. It\u2019s so bright and open, without a care in the world, and yet it is also refined. In addition to music by Britten\u2019s teacher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/frank-bridge-2\">Frank Bridge<\/a><\/strong>, there\u2019s a Wiener Walzer<\/em> and Italian opera \u2013 as if Britten is listing the composers he discussed with Bridge, saying, \u2018Master, let me show you a panopticon of our work together.\u2019 It\u2019s an incredibly personal tribute.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/benjamin-britten-best-works\">The best works by Benjamin Britten<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-max-reger-variations-and-fugue-on-a-theme-by-mozart\">Max Reger\u00a0\u2013 Variations and Fugue on a Theme by\u00a0Mozart<\/em><\/h2>These days, only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/different-parts-of-a-pipe-organ\">organists<\/a><\/strong> really allow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/max-reger\">Reger<\/a><\/strong> into concert repertoire, which is unfortunate because he was an incredible genius who was able to juggle harmonies as though he were juggling with five balls.\u00a0If anything, he was too smart for his own good: sometimes his harmonic changes are so fast and virtuosic that, as a listener, I have a hard time following him. In the Mozart Variations<\/em>, however, he takes the listener with him: the harmonic changes are challenging and edgy but never to the point that you lose track of where he is going.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-richard-strauss-don-quixote\">Richard Strauss \u2013 Don Quixote<\/em><\/h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/richard-strauss\">Strauss<\/a><\/strong> was good at satirising his characters\u2019 shortcomings. In this tone poem for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/cello\">cello<\/a><\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/viola-how-to-play-tune-clean-beginners\">viola<\/a><\/strong> and orchestra he paints his two heroes \u2013 the unfortunate knight <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/what-are-the-best-recordings-of-richard-strausss-don-quixote\">Don Quixote<\/a><\/strong> and his servant \u2013 with kindness, but also with ugliness and flaws. The cello plays the part of Don Quixote and in Strauss\u2019s time it really sounded like an unfortunate knight: thinner in the high register and a little rusty lower down, due to the gut strings. Now, both the cello and viola have evolved, but through that evolution we have lost an element of rawness and the charm that goes with it.\u00a0<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/what-are-the-best-recordings-of-richard-strausss-don-quixote\">Don Juan: who was he and why did Richard Strauss write a tone poem about him?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/guide-strausss-also-sprach-zarathustra\">A guide to Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-js-bach-goldberg-variations\">JS Bach \u2013 Goldberg Variations<\/em><\/h2>We find <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/johann-sebastian-bach\">Bach<\/a><\/strong> at his most humane in these variations, especially in the Quodlibet<\/em> \u2013 a form of song often performed in the Bach family. I love that the composer is willing to reveal this everyday side to himself. It\u2019s also striking that the piece consists of so many variations. Was he really planning from the outset to write 30? Or did he just think, \u2018This is going really well; it just keeps coming out,\u2019 and so continued to give more and more? Who knows.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/the-best-recordings-of-js-bachs-goldberg-variations\">The best recordings of JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Lang Lang - Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/55hk75OgWDg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lang Lang plays the Aria from Bach’s Goldberg Variations<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-paul-hindemith-symphonic-metamorphosis-of-themes-by-carl-maria-von-weber\">Paul Hindemith \u2013 Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber<\/em><\/h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/paul-hindemith\">Hindemith<\/a><\/strong> is known for being a bit angular and scholastic, but these variations are full of humour and life. The original <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/carl-maria-von-weber\">Weber<\/a><\/strong> themes are from the composer\u2019s music for Turandot <\/em>(Yes! Like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/giacomo-puccini\">Puccini<\/a><\/strong>, Weber also wrote a Turandot<\/em>!), but Hindemith recasts them in his own angular style. The result is an orchestral showpiece, full of musical fireworks. I recommend listening first to Weber\u2019s original and then to Hindemith for\u00a0comparison: it\u2019s a joy.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-who-is-johannes-moser\">Who is Johannes Moser?<\/h2>Hailing from Munich, Johannes Moser started playing the cello aged eight. In 2002, he leapt to fame by winning second prize at the International <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/international-tchaikovsky-competition-expelled-from-world-federation-of-international-music-competitions\">Tchaikovsky Competition<\/a><\/strong> in Russia. He regularly performs with leading orchestras, is an active chamber musician and is keen to expand the focus of classical music through outreach projects and new commissions. His next album, Songs of Joy and Sorrow<\/em> with guitarist Xuefei Yang, is out in September on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.platoon.ai\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Platoon<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/cellist-johannes-moser-on-the-changing-role-of-encores\">Cellist Johannes Moser on the changing role of encores<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Published: Wednesday, 07 August 2024 at 10:00 AM What are the best musical variations on a theme? German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser selects his favourite variations in classical music, from Bach to Britten. What are variations in music? Edward Elgar – Enigma Variations In Elgar\u2019s Cello Concerto the composer decries the loss of his world […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":45883,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/the-7-greatest-musical-variations-ever-written.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/the-7-greatest-musical-variations-ever-written-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/the-7-greatest-musical-variations-ever-written-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/the-7-greatest-musical-variations-ever-written-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/the-7-greatest-musical-variations-ever-written-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/the-7-greatest-musical-variations-ever-written.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/the-7-greatest-musical-variations-ever-written.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Published: Wednesday, 07 August 2024 at 10:00 AM What are the best musical variations on a theme? German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser selects his favourite variations in classical music, from Bach to Britten. What are variations in music? Edward Elgar – Enigma Variations In Elgar\u2019s Cello Concerto the composer decries the loss of his world…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/45882"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}