The corpus of 16 cycles of "Theme with Variations" composed by Mozart represents an important part of his piano production: second, in quantity, only to the group of 18 Sonatas. The Theme with Variations form does not present the structural complexity of Sonata or Rondò form, as the simple formal model of the theme (usually in ABA or AB form) is always kept in each Variation. We know that Mozart often improvised on a given theme at public concerts, and surely some of the cycles of Variations he published are derived from live improvisations.
The first Variations composed by Mozart date back to 1776, when he was a ten-year-old boy, while Variations K 613 were written in 1791, a few months before his death. Listening to the complete Variations by Mozart, therefore, allows us to appreciate his stylistic evolution and the growing finesse with which the themes are treated and varied. If in the youthful Variations the theme elaboration procedures are limited to the rhythm and the melody, leaving the harmonic structure unchanged, in the more mature works each single Variation shows a different emotional facet of the theme, with a growing dramatic characterization of each element.
With the exception of the Variations K 460, all the others were published during Mozart's lifetime, probably with the author's supervision, and are therefore very accurate in defining the articulation and dynamics. However, much freedom remains for the interpreter to characterize the expression of each melodic element, also given the large number of repeats present in the score. The order of the cycles of Variations on these two CDs has been chosen by juxtaposing closely related keys, and alternating pieces with different character and writing, in order to offer a varied and differentiated listening experience.
The 12 Variations K 265 in C major on Ah, vous dirai-je maman elaborate a very popular theme in France in the second half of the 1700s, better known today in the English version “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. The Variations are dedicated to the pianist Josepha von Auernhammer. The Artaria publishing house, where shepianist worked, published the cycle in 1785. The theme is introduced in the simplest possible version, with only the melody and bass in a regular quarter note rhythm, but the following Variations present a remarkable intensification of writing and speed. Although often studied by young pianists, these Variations require refined technical and expressive skills in order to adequately render the finesse of the writing and the virtuosic momentum.
Another particularly famous cycle is that of the 10 Variations K 455 in G major on the theme Unser dummer Pöbel meint, taken from Gluck's opera "Die Pilger von Mekka", which was performed in Vienna in 1784. During his stay in Vienna, Gluck attended a concert by Mozart, who in homage to him improvised Variations on this same theme, probably very similar to these, that were published a few months later, in August 1784. It is one of the richest and most interesting for variety of writing, tonal imagination and musical vitality.
The Variations K 573 in D major are based on the Minuet from a Sonata for Cello and Basso Continuo by Jean Pierre Duport, Kapellmeister at the court of King of Prussia, Frederick William II. Mozart composed them in 1789, on the occasion of his trip to Berlin, and Artaria published them in 1791. It is one of the most successful cycles and fully represents the characteristics of Mozart's more mature piano language, rich in chromaticism and rapid emotional leaps, especially in the Variation in D minor and in the Adagio.
In March 1766 Mozart undertook a trip to Holland, with his father Leopold. During this trip, he composed the 8 Variations K 24 in G major. The theme is Laat Ons Juichen, Batavieren!, a song by Christian Ernst Graaf, Kapellmeister of Prince William V of Orange, written to celebrate his coronation which took place in 1766. It is one of the most interesting songs among those of the Mozart was a child, and here we already find the rhythmic vitality and melodic inventiveness that make Mozart's writing unmistakable.
The 9 Variations K 264 in C major are on the Arietta Lison dormait, from the second act of the opera “Julie” by the French composer Nicolas Dezède. This cycle dates back to 1778, when Mozart was in Paris, where he probably met Dezède in person. The theme is one of the most elaborate among those chosen by Mozart for his cycles of Variations, and gives rise to a remarkable variety of elaborations, culminating in the beautiful Adagio.
Also of French inspiration are the 8 Variations K 352 in F major, on the Choir Dieu d'amour from the opera “Les marriages samnites” by André Erneste Modeste Grétry. Probably composed in Vienna in 1781, the Variations make extensive use of dynamic contrast, chromaticism and dissonances to characterize each elaboration of the theme. Variation no. 5, in F minor, is of considerable poetic depth, in its desolate and tragic expression. Virtuoso writing is present in the Variation n. 6, which prescribes quick crossing of hands, and in the quick Finale in 3/8.
Johann Christian Fischer was a German oboist and composer living in London, whom Mozart had met in Holland in 1766. From the last movement of his Concerto for oboe and orchestra (1768) is taken the Minuet which is the theme for the 12 Variations K 179 in C major. Although still an early work (dating from 1774), this represents Mozart’s first important piano work. We know from his letters that he was especially fond of this cycle, and played it several times in concert. The writing is very virtuosic and can give us an idea of the kind of pianism that the young Mozart knew how to show off in his public performances.
One of Mozart’s best friends in the last years of his life was the bohemian singer and composer Benedikt Schack (1758 - 1826), who sang the role of Tamino in the first performance of The Magic Flute. Schack also composed several works in which there are also some pieces written for him by Mozart himself. The 8 Variations K 613 in F major use the Lied Ein Weib ist das herrlichste Ding taken from the Singspiel “Der dumme Gärtner”, which was staged by Emanuel Schikaneder himself who had staged Mozart’s Magic Flute. A letter written to Schack by Mozart’s widow, Constanze, confirms the great friendship between the two: “I can't think of anyone else who knew Wolfgang better than you, or to whom he was more attached”. These Variations, written between March and April 1791, are the last major piano piece composed by Mozart. The actual theme is preceded by an eight-bar introduction which returns before each Variation, gradually more and more elaborated. In the Coda the theme reappears in its original version, to then take its leave in a completely anti-rhetorical way, “on tiptoe”.
The simple theme of the 12 Variations K 500 in B flat major (published 1786) is not attributed to any composer, and may have been written by Mozart himself. Very short, and with a very simple and symmetrical structure, it has a humorous and ironic character, accentuated by the quirky trills, which then return with crossed hands in Variation n. 10, and in the final reappearance of the theme.
The 12 Variations K 354 in E flat major are based on the Aria Je suis Lindor” , from the comic operetta “Le barbier de Séville” (1775) by the French composer Antoine Laurent Baudron (1742-1834). Je suis Lindor”(“I am Lindor”) is the second couplet of the Count’s aria, in which he declares his presumed identity to his beloved Rosina. Written in 1788 in Paris, these Variations are one of the most ambitious and demanding cycles, in which the comic nature of the theme gives Mozart the opportunity to unleash a vast repertoire of instrumental inventions: trills, crossing of hands, broken octaves, up to the very rapid scales of the VariationNo. 8, which are one of the virtuosic peaks of Mozart's piano writing.
The Choir “Salve tu, Domine”, from the opera “I Filosofi Immaginarii” by Paisiello, is the theme of the 6 Variations K 398 in F major. Mozart improvised on this theme (and on Gluck’s Variations K 455) in a public concert in the presence of the Emperor, in Vienna on 23 March 1783, the year of publication of these Variations. This cycle too has a distinctly humorous character, and exploits unusual piano solutions, such as the jumps for alternate hands in Variation no. 2, the continuous trills of Variation no. 5, and the very fast contrary motion arpeggios of Variation no. 6.
The 12 Variations K 353 in E flat major were composed in Paris in 1778, using one of the most popular songs of the time in France as the theme: La belle françoise. Unlike the previous cycles, here Mozart exploits more the lyrical aspect of the theme, developing it in various elaborations that enhance its cadenced profile, also through chromatic appoggiaturas and melodic inversions. On the other hand, the finale, Presto, is very brilliant, giving way to the final return of the theme itself.
From the second movement of the Sonata for violin and piano K 547 comes the Theme with Variations K. 54 (Anh. 138a) in F major. In the autograph for piano the Variation no. 4 of the version for violin and piano, which has therefore been omitted here. Composed in 1788, these Variations display a mature style and a great deal of expressive nuances, especially in the F minor Variation.
Antonio Salieri, an Italian composer of great success in Vienna, is the author of the theme chosen by Mozart for the 6 Variations K 180 in G major, on the aria Mio caro Adone, from the Finale of the opera “La Fiera di Venezia”, which was performed in Vienna several times starting from 1772. Composed in 1773 and published in 1778, the Variations elaborate on the character of origin of the theme, annotating it with numerous sforzatos, appoggiaturas and dynamic contrasts.
The 7 Variations K 25 in D major were written (like the K 24) by Mozart at the age of 10 during his trip to Holland. The theme is the song Willem van Nassau, particularly popular in Holland at the time of Prince William of Nassau. Mozart’s father, who traveled with his son and effectively acted as his impresario, managed to get the Variations published in Holland while the festivities for his coronation were still underway.
The Theme with 2 Variations K 460 in A major on the Aria Come un agnello from the opera “Tra i due litiganti il terzo gode” by Giuseppe Sarti, is the beginning of an unfinished cycle, as Mozart's manuscript stops at the second variation. There is, on this theme, another score with 8 Variations, published in Mozart's name by Artaria in 1802, but modern musicology has ascertained that it was composed by another composer (it could be Sarti himself). Mozart met Sarti in Vienna in 1784 and improvised in his honor Variations on a theme by him.
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In this recording I have maintained the approach already adopted with Mozart’s Sonatas, giving particular attention to the pronunciation of each element. In the Variations, Mozart’s musical discourse does not present the complexity and wide-ranging length that we can instead find in the Sonatas or Rondò, so it is very important to take opportunity of all the occasions to underline the expressive variety of the writing. The character of the Variations usually always tends towards the humorous side, and it is no coincidence that all the Variations are in a major key.
I therefore wanted to accentuate the rhetorical sense of each rhythmic or melodic element, often also highlighting the secondary voices, to create a close and sometimes humorous dialogue between the voices, thanks also to the precious advice of Maestro Mattia Rondelli, who assisted me during all recording sessions.
I have tried to characterize each Variation with a specific timbre, exploiting the great richness of nuances and dynamics offered by the Fazioli F 278 grand piano. The piano has been tuned with the unequal Vallotti temperament, the same used for the my recording of Mozart's Sonatas. With this tuning, very widespread in Mozart’s time, the specific color of each key stands out at the points where, within a cycle of Variations, there is key change, especially when modulating in the minor keys (such as E flat minor in Variations K 354 no. 9 and K 353 no. 9, or B flat minor in Variation K 500 no. 7). Here, thanks to the unequal tuning, one perceives a sense of precariousness, or of having ended up in a “wrong” place, given the distance from the main key.
The use of the sustaining pedal is never indicated by Mozart in the score, and the early Variations were written at a time when fortepianos often did not always have a sustaining pedal. For this reason I have preferred to minimize the use of the pedal, preferring a dry touch, with a great variety of staccatos. I looked for a clarity of pronunciation close to that obtained on the fortepiano, to better highlight the many varieties of articulation that are indicated with great detail in these scores.
Recording this music has been an experience of discovery and of exhilarating fun in exploring the many nuances of Mozart’s humour. I hope that all of this can also reach you listeners.
Roberto Prosseda