Diabelli variations newly varied
The pianist Rudolf Buchbinder has inspired contemporary composers to write works based on Diabelli's waltz.
For the Beethoven anniversary year, the Viennese pianist Rudolf Buchbinder has recorded his 33 Variations on a waltz by A. Diabelli again, and for the third time. He came up with something very special: He combined Beethoven's gigantic cycle with settings by his contemporaries, who at the time also wrote variations on the given theme for the publisher Diabelli, including versions by Franz Schubert, Franz Xaver Mozart and the eleven-year-old Franz Liszt. In addition, however, Buchbinder encouraged contemporary composers to explore Diabelli's waltz. The list is impressive and includes eleven names from Lera Auerbach to Jörg Widmann.
Some of these works have now been published by Schott, for example Christian Jost's racy Rock it, Rudi! (ED 23535) or the Variation on a theme by Anton Diabelli by Rodion Shchedrin (ED 23536). The latter turns out to be a clever piece full of pirouettes and surprises and should be played entirely without pedal (although the middle pedal could be helpful here and there).
Toshio Hosokawa's contribution goes into greater depth. The composer, who was born in Hiroshima in 1955, not only seems to be inspired by Beethoven's Changesbut also on the variation that Franz Schubert contributed to the joint work at the time. Hosokawa's Diabelli variation with the title Loss is also in the key of C minor and bears other related traits. It is a meditation whose quiet sounds are repeatedly interrupted and questioned by brusque interjections. This "Adagio, sostenuto, with feeling and expression" allows Diabelli's theme to shine through clearly at all times and, with the exception of a fast cadenza, makes few pianistic demands. Towards the end, however, Hosokawa also indulges a preference of late Beethoven with two longer trills ...
This piece, captivating in its simplicity, was premiered together with the other contributions by Rudolf Buchbinder at the Vienna Musikverein in March 2020 and is available on the CD The Diabelli Project (Deutsche Grammophon 00028948377077).
Toshio Hosokawa: Verlust/Loss, Diabelli-Variation for piano, SJ 1211, € 7.50, Schott, Mainz
