00:00 - Bassline 00:44 - Var.1 on bassline (2 voices). The first of three cantus firmus variations. 01:26 - Var.2 on bassline (3 voices). The bassline rises by one octave. A third voice is suggested by LH registral shifts. 02:08 - Var.3 on bassline (4 voices). The bassline rises yet again. 02:44 - Theme (the fourth cantus firmus variation). A more rhythmically active melody (compared to the bass) is introduced. 03:21 - Var.1. Semiquaver embellishment of the theme. 03:57 - Var.2. Arpeggiation from Var.1 is expanded, but theme all but disappears. 04:45 - Var.3. Lots of fun hand-crossing and wickedly placed bass accents. 05:24 - Var.4. A chatty etude - the action is now in the LH. The theme reappears the RH, reduced. 05:59 - Var.5. Another variation with a clear link to the theme in the RH - but the bassline is so richly embellished in the LH it becomes a melody. Lots of delicate syncopation. 06:49 - Var.6, in Cm. The variation with the clearest link to the theme. 07:22 - Var.7. A bright, pointillistic canon at the octave (well, in the outer sections at least). Beethoven cleverly places accents to emphasise how certain notes echo. 07:59 - Var.8. Supple and dreamy - anticipates the Waldstein’s 3rd movement. 08:48 - Var.9. Brusque and variegated - also funny, as the LH insists so much on Bb that the bassline gets unceremoniously shoved into grace notes. 09:27 - Var.10. an ingenious textural study: LH playing leaping pedal Bbs, while the RH gets a pair of slurred semiquavers. then an off-beat staccato semiquaver. The second half parodically plays on the tension between Cb and Bb (Hammerklavier?); this Cb also links this variation the previous two, which exploit that same note it for colour. 10:08 - Var.11. Staid and straight-faced, the entrance of Var.11 sounds like a bathetic send-up of the previous two brilliant variations (until it also decides to indulge itself with leaps in the closing bars). 10:52 - Var.12. Slurred two-note groups and a LH/RH which refuse to ever sound together (except for two bars in the middle). Clever manipulation of phrase lengths - some 4-bar, some 2-bar, and some half-bar. 11:34 - Var.13. A ridiculous upper pedal asserts itself, until the second half’s static harmony forces it to do a bit of work. 12:12 - Var.14, Ebm. Still, contrapuntal, harmonically dense (note especially the Neapolitan colour). An antipodal change in mood. Also a double variation (the repeat is written out and varied). 13:22 - Var.15. One of B’s loveliest “small-note” variations - a richly decorated aria, and the second double variation. The theme’s harmony gets distended (I, V, ii, vi) to generate moments of remarkable tenderness. (Strange how a device earlier used for laughs - an upper pedal - can become so emotionally intense, as at 14:45.) 16:59 - Coda, in Cm. Develops the theme (and recalls Var.6). Its presence is quite enigmatic - Beethoven could easily have transitioned from Var.15 directly to the fugue (both are in Eb), but chooses instead to put a dink in the harmonic scheme by moving to Cm and cadencing on the dominant there. Despite this the G chord seems to lead quite naturally to the fugue - the connection is emotive/colouristic rather than traditionally functional (and isn’t really heard as a modulation). 18:08 - Finale, Part 1: fugue on the bassline’s head. Lots of nice things in here, not least the integration of the theme into the texture starting from 18:54 (alongside the diminuted subject at 19:06). At 19:47, a dramatic dominant pedal leads to a climactic passage that comes to rest on the most dissonant inversion of the Bb7 chord. 20:21 - Finale, Part 2: Var.16. A surprisingly direct statement of the theme, with only slight adjustments until trills enter on the repeat. 21:25 - Finale, Part 3: Var.17. Melody sings in the LH, the RH rises and falls above. Some sublime moments in here (perhaps because it’s hard not to hear the 3rd Symphony’s majestic horns in this?). The third double variation. 22:24 - Closing tonic-dominant swing, using an increasingly diminuted theme in the RH.

(Also, for the Patreon folks - I know the recordings here are different from the ones I used for my previous upload, but I decided Kikuchi was too good not to put in!)

I love how Beethoven uses contrasting note values throughout the piece, especially in the fugue! It makes it sound so incredibly bouncy and exciting. In the adagios, however, it gives us his signature hemidemisemiquavers whose stems look like black smudges in the sheet music.

Waiting for this to appear on KZfaq for a LONG time!! About over 15 years! Like nobody cared about this masterpiece!

Too good! sincerely I had never heard Kikuchi's performance but now it's my favorite!

Had never heard Kikuchi before, and OMG THE QUALITY

I'm so glad that Cyprien Katsaris is getting more exposure and appreciation. He is rarely mentioned for reasons entirely unknown to me, but he is one of the best to do it. As an aside, he has the best version of Chopin's Berceuse ever captured (Carnegie Hall). It is the lullaby of all lullabies.

Wow this is insane....... I can't believe the touch😭😭 Thank you so much

Hey Ashish, great to see you uploading again, your music channel has been my main go-to for the last 5 years. I've discovered amazing musical gems because of you, thanks again!

I so love the music you put up!

Katsaris' performance is *fantastic*, especially the way he really varies up the repeats (bringing out the bass, or subduing the dynamics dramatically the 2nd time through). Also, for variation sets I normally like a steady tempo throughout (like the op. 26 opener or the 32 variations in C minor), but Katsaris is so good he sells the different tempi (like the brilliantly fast pace on vars. 4 and 10) beautifully. This is such a fascinating work, much more orchestral in character than the Diabelli, 32 Variations in C minor, or the op. 34, and your analysis, as always, helps me understand its greatness. I'm so happy to see you posting more videos here, Ashish.

I think the finale of the 3rd piano concerto is also based on this variation. Listen to 4:41 for example

This is perhaps one of beethoven's greatest variations set along with his diabelli variations!

These variations are pure fun!

Wow this is very neat performance! I also appreciate the effort to present sheet music without missing a single note; I laughed so hard seeing enlarged score at 4:29 😂

I never knew this composition was a thing! I can see why he was so proud of it.

Excited!

Splendid variations.

Thank you for paying tribute to our beloved Katsaris

One of my favorites! ❤❤❤

Thanks!!!! ☺️☺️😁

Great piece

Excellent!!!!

Very interesting how, in particularly the more melodic variations, Katsaris' treatment of melody, with plenty of rubato and expression, reflects how Beethoven may have played at the time...drawing upon the Bel Canto operatic genre known for its 'free' vocal lines.

Its amazing how you hear the seeds for the hammerklavier fugue, the op 110 fugue and Brahms Handel variations fugue in one piece

Es lo más bello ,que escuchado. 🎶🎶🥉🖐️ que duermas bien 🌟 gracias.

I’m surprised you didn’t mention Symphony No.3 once. The finale of the third Symphony takes this variations set one step further, and makes it almost rhapsodic in nature. Not only are there variations in G minor and D major(!), but there are two double fugues and a mind-boggling coda.

2:44 yep that's my theme

Que bien hechas las variaciones.

Delightful!

awesome! :D

Hello :) I'm a 27-year-old pregnant woman! When I was a college student, I enjoyed classical music a lot while writing reports, but listening to this music reminded me of my college days! It still remains a good memory. 😍 Currently, I have a three-year-old daughter and I am pregnant with my second daughter 💕🤰 and it seems to be helpful for prenatal care! Thank you for listening to good music. ☕ 🎧 Happy new year and I hope you have a happy year. 🙇‍♀️ 🙇‍♂️ 🧧

i feel like after these variations everyone wanted to have a fugue as the finale of their variations

The attemts of fugues and canons - besides the variations stemming from a single two-phrase bass line - remind me of Bach's Goldberg Variations; although much less rigorously written.

Nice

This is an incredible piece. I performed it a few years back and it's just so much fun start to finish. Most fascinating in my opinion is how much this is a rough 'dress rehearsal' for the Diabellis in terms of structure. The overall architecture of the two pieces is strikingly similar in multiple significant ways, but the pacing here is not *nearly* as effective. The Maggiore, as beautiful as it is, brings the pace to a screeching halt, and from then it drags. By the time the fugue ends and the final run of variations starts, it's gone on almost objectively too long, and the closing material is just not interesting enough to justify itself. The Diabellis are nearly twice as long as this, but at no point do they let down an interested listener. Regardless, I love this piece to death, and it has a certain raw optimism, charm, and orchestral ambition that its successor doesn't.

It would be interesting to hear some of these variations arranged for strings..

Katsaris has a great interpretation, since he played the original symphony no 3 transcribed for solo piano by liszt

A Quattro part was great 👍

Que preciosos trinos.

I play this work myself. Katsaris is vastly better than I am. I know you are not interested in that fact, but you might want to know why: His version is extremely smooth, but pauses and changes tempi very thoughtfully, when necessary....on a dime. He never pounds, like I do. His passagework demonstrates that he has spent thousands of hours working on their fluidity. He always surprises us with a different take on every variation. Particularly his use of pedal occasionally on some of them. Finally, he "rocks." His humorous take on the work is obvious from the start. I have never heard it better. And I have heard some greats, even in person. Sanjosemike (no longer in CA)

A masterly, beautiful, and joyous set of variations not to be outdone by the late Op.120.

Muy emocional. 😄😍

Variation 10 was about 100 years ahead of its time

8:47

22:00

Now we see wbere Schubert took the d960 theme from...but Ashish has not noticed it at all. Probably doesn't know his Latin Masses...

11:34

That little melody in the bass at 1:50, does somebody know what that is? It sounds so familiar, but I can't think of what piece it originally comes from.. (or which part of the eroica symphony?)

Cómo me gusta la vatiacio sobre el mismo tema. 🎶🎶🎶🎶🥉

Ólafsson is also great in these

DAT DAT DAT.

Would you upload Beethoven Violin Sonata No.5(Op.24)?

Oh, Yusuke is one of the teacher in college I go as student! surprised! When did he play this piece?

Maximum volume on my phone and can barely hear the pianissimo sections lol 😆

Worth pasting if you can the Liszt piano transcripts of Beethoven's symphonies by Katsaris...a revelation.

Hey Ashish, noticed that the recordings of the 32 variations in C minor and Symphonic Etudes are no longer available. Can they be rescued?

this piece fucked me. I chose it on a whim for a recital and never got it to feel good. it seems so self explanatory but everything feels so awkward.

45:32

cant wait for Brahms 2

Cómo me guste llevar la lectura.

In which symphony was it? i dont remember but i think it was in either the 3rd or the second??

Why did Beethoven call this "15 variations" when there are actually *18* (with the fugue as the 16th)?

Nice to see a new video from you! I'd like to know what do you think of Charles-Valentin Alkan as a composer and do you plan making a video on one of his works?

Katsaris is the best

👍🙏❤️

I have enjoyed watching your video because I like them. However, it is a shame that I can't watch the video 'Tchaikovsky: The Seasons, Op.37a (Primakov, Pletnev)' I put in my playlist. I looked for any other sound source, but there is no sound source with the atmosphere and sound to follow your video. If possible, can you reveal it again? please.....🙏

25:15, 25:50, 26:34, 27:13

Based

👍

I'm more often astonished by Beethoven's superficiality than not!

19:21 Why did he suddenly decide to use parallel fifths? can someone explain

Why not Kovachevich?

0:00 am I the only one hearing an Ebmaj7 chord? :D

Var 8 sounds like Chopin.

Is it really a C# at 0:46, not Db?

Alfred all the way

El canto también.

e

How about doig the right things and not having adds in msic like this. This is awful. :-( At least have them before or after the performance.

I can't watch your videos with incessant advertising popping in every two minutes!

You have disgusting ads just popping up in the performance. I couldn't stand any more. There's no point in posting music that is crudely interrupted like this. :-(