BEETHOVEN
Diabelli Variations Op. 120
Maurizio Pollini (piano)
Deutsche Grammophon - 459
645-2
[50.08]
Crotchet
1. Tema. Vivace
2. Var. 1. Alla Marcia Maestoso
3. Var. 2. Poco Allegro
4. Var. 3. L'Istesso Tempo
5. Var. 4. Un Poco Piu Vivace
6. Var. 5. Allegro Vivace
7. Var. 6. Allegro Ma Non Troppo E Serioso
8. Var. 7. Un Poco Piu Allegro
9. Var. 8. Poco Vivace
10. Var. 9. Allegro Pesante E Risoluto
11. Var. 10. Presto
12. Var. 11. Allegretto
13. Var. 12. Un Poco Piu Moto
14. Var. 13. Vivace
15. Var. 14. Grave E Maestoso
16. Var. 15. Presto Scherzando
17. Var. 16. Allegro
18. Var. 17
19. Var. 18. Poco Moderato
20. Var. 19. Presto21. Var. 20. Andante
22. Var. 21. Allegro Con Brio - Meno Allegro
23. Var. 22. Allegro Molto (Alla 'Notte E Giorno Faticar' Di Mozart)
24. Var. 23. Allegro Assai
25. Var. 24. Fughetta. Andante
26. Var. 25. Allegro
27. Var. 26
28. Var. 27. Vivace
29. Var. 28. Allegro
30. Var. 29. Adagio Ma Non Troppo
31. Var. 30. Andante, Sempre Cantabile
32. Var. 31. Molto Espressivo
33. Var. 32. Fuga. Allegro
34. Var. 33. Tempo Di Menuetto, Moderato (Ma Non Tirarsi Dietro)
The Diabelli Variations is one of those works that almost never
fails to capture and hold interest and wonder, however many times heard.
Any good record collection should have at least one version, and for many
collectors that will be Brendel, who illuminates countless details
along the way
(Philips
- 4262322).
Pollini is far more straightforward in his approach and storms through
imperiously, without ever relaxing his hold on the listener. He inflects
detail minimally, maintains steady tempi through individual variations, and
does not seek to reveal Beethoven's wit, of which there is plenty to be found.
It is take-it-or-leave-it Beethoven, straight in your face, sometimes brusque
as the (very deaf) composer might have played it, with little concern for
the sensitivities of his hearers.
But set against that Pollini's technical command and manifest authority at
the keyboard. Having heard him recently
in a
dazzling recital, I would bet that not too many retakes were
needed in the studio to get all the notes in place. Initially I was disconcerted
by his approach, but quickly was swept up in the continuity with which he
presents this huge work in a single trajectory, which makes the fifty minutes
feel shorter than that.
If you don't have a Diabelli yet, and don't know these 33 variations
on Anton Diabelli's banal little waltz all that well, do yourself
a favour and purchase two versions - not this one alone. The recording is
superb and the notes give helpful cues for further study.
Peter Grahame Woolf
