Ludwig Van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
33 Variations on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op.120 (1819-1822) [72:31]
Christina Bjørkoe (piano)
rec. Syddansk Musikkonservatorium, Odense, Denmark, 9-11 September 2013
DANACORD DACOCD747 [72:31]
Beethoven is not my speciality. Even if he were, I doubt that I would
have been able or have wished to evaluate many of the 95 recordings of
the Diabelli Variations currently listed on the Arkiv website. Over and
above these will be many more versions that have disappeared into history,
possibly waiting to be re-mastered. I was ‘brought up’ on
Alfred Brendel’s 1988 interpretation on Philips (426 232-2). As
it is not a work that I choose to listen to very often, that performance
has sufficed over the years.
The Danish concert pianist Christina Bjørkoe is a new name to me.
She was born in Copenhagen. At 19 she attended the Juilliard School of
Music in New York where she studied with Seymour Lipkin. Returning to
Denmark she completed her studies with Ann Øland. Much of her concert
activity has included orchestral and chamber music as well as regular
appearances in the recital room. Bjørkoe has toured in Europe,
the USA, Asia and Latin America. She is an associate professor of music
at the Southern Denmark Academy of Music and Theatre School.
Her discography is extensive with CDs dedicated to Bach’s Goldberg
Variations, Clara and Robert Schumann’s piano music, and Chopin’s
24 Preludes. One of her outstanding achievements has been her attention
to Danish composers. She has recorded piano music by Niels W. Gade, Carl
Nielsen’s complete piano music, Bentzon’s Sonatas and a variety
of chamber music by Børresen, Louis Glass and Vagn Holmboe.
James Friskin wrote that one method of understanding the ‘Diabelli’
Variations is to draw a parallel with Bach’s ‘Goldberg ‘Variations.
He insists that Beethoven calls for even more variety and emotional range
and demands huge interpretive skills. On the other hand Marion Scott has
suggested that this work takes its place alongside Bach’s ‘Art
of the Fugue’, in that ‘Beethoven put forth his full power
and learning to demonstrate a form and his mastership [of it]’.
It is useful to recall that the work’s genesis was a request from
the publisher Diabelli for a variation each from some thirty-three composers,
based on a waltz composed by himself. Legend suggests that Beethoven declined
the offer to contribute referring to Diabelli’s tune as a ‘cobbler’s
patch’. So, instead of participating in a combined work, Beethoven
wrote these 33 variations himself. They were composed in 1819 and were
revised in 1822-23.
The theme by Diabelli has rich possibilities for variation and Beethoven
was able to produce a set of variations that never really lost sight of
the original. The key to listening to this work is that one has to accept
that these variations are cumulative: it is not possible to extract sections
for separate performance - like the ubiquitous 18th variation
from Rachmaninov’s Variations on a theme of Paganini.
Beethoven has explored fughetta, imitative passages using techniques that
Bach would have been proud of, tremolos and octaves, dissonance and naïve
triadic harmonies. There is humour here as well as introspection and an
impossibly complex fugue. The overall impression is of a bewildering collection
of hugely contrasting, but somehow internally consistent variations. I
guess that the interpretive demands mean that only the greatest pianists
can tackle it.
My one concern with this CD is the length of the recording. Bjørkoe
takes a monumental 72:31 to reach the final bar. Alfred Brendel disposes
of this work in 52:36. Under the hour mark seems to be the norm with most
recordings. I have not followed the music for this work in both of these
versions for the entire work, however Bjørkoe plays many of the
repeats that are found in virtually every variation. I am not a Beethoven
scholar so I do not know the pros and cons of this approach. Nonetheless,
it makes a long set of variations even longer by 20 full minutes. It is
up to listeners to decide for themselves if this ‘extra’ music
is appropriate.
As always with Danacord, the sound recording is ideal: every nuance of
this complex work is clearly audible. The liner-notes by Mogens Christensen
are a model of their kind, giving a history of the work and a readable,
non-technical analysis of each movement. This bears study even if the
reader feels it is a little quixotic.
The playing of this set of variations by Bjørkoe caught my imagination
and held my attention in spite of the extended length. The variety within
these variations is essential: I guess that it is the contrast between
them that is most important. The most impressive moment for me is the
longest variation (14th) with its ‘sustained quietness’.
In all this Christina Bjørkoe succeeds in giving a commanding and
memorable recital.
John France
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