Musicon / Beethoven / Cappi & Diabelli as the cause of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations
-Cappi & Diabelli as the cause of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations
In 1819 Anton Diabelli, a Viennese music publisher trying to generate publicity for his new firm, Cappi & Diabelli, came up with a savvy promotional project. He sent a short waltz he had written, a trifle that could have been taken for a beer hall dance, to popular composers living in Austria, inviting each to a write a variation on it. His intention was to publish the theme and variations as a collection, patriotically titled “Native Society of Artists.”
In time 50 composers would comply with Diabelli’s request, not just some who are footnotes today, like Hieronymus Payer and Ignaz Umlauf, but Schubert, Czerny and the 11-year-old Liszt. Notably unresponsive, at first, was Beethoven.
According to the composer Anton Schindler, who became Beethoven’s secretary and biographer, Beethoven initially disdained the waltz. But after looking more carefully, he found it oddly captivating .
Before the year was out Beethoven had composed 23 wildly diverse variations on the theme. Then he set it aside, evidently having lost interest, and turned to other projects. Yet in late 1822 and early 1823 Beethoven composed 10 more variations. Thus the “Diabelli” Variations.
From the New York Times; excerpts, edited by Musicon
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