Brahms, Variations on a Theme of Haydn

Almost twenty years after Robert Schumann's death, the Hamburg composer Johannes Brahms was still writing to Clara Schumann, the object of that ideal passion, at once so close and yet so distant. On the occasion of the premiere of his first symphonic work of maturity, the Variations on a Theme of Haydn, he wrote to Clara confessing his special predilection for this piece, which, although short and simple, brought him "greater satisfaction and pleasure" than many others.

Nine variations
Brahms was certainly fascinated by the theme appearing in the first of six divertimenti for wind instruments published in 1831 and, as was believed at the time, written by Haydn around 1800. The theme was based on an old pilgrims' song called "St. Anthony's Chorale".

Enchanted with the melody of irregular meter, Brahms built on it a set of nine variations that would become his first mature orchestral work, and whose good reception would open the way to the confidence needed to finish his First Symphony.
As usual, and for practical reasons, Brahms also wrote a version for two pianos.

Brahns, at the age of 20
(1833 -1897)

A Haydn theme?
Although Haydn's authorship of the divertimenti has been in doubt for more than fifty years - being today generally attributed to Ignaz Pleyel, a disciple of Haydn, and father of Camille, a friend of Chopin's -, current usage and recording tradition maintains the title given here and, probably, because of this, the error will be perpetuated. However, serious music lovers are accustomed to refer to the work as "St. Anthony Variations Chorale", for the sake of its seriousness.

The variations
Composed in the summer of 1873 during a stay of Brahms in a town in Bavaria, the work was premiered on November 2 of that year by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by its author, to great public and critical acclaim.

Its sections are:
00       Thme
02:24  Var 1. Poco più animato
03:40  Var 2. Più vivace
04:42  Var 3. Con moto
06:30  Var 4. Andante con moto
08:50  Var 5. Vivace
09:47  Var 6. Vivace
11:12  Var 7. Grazioso
14:29  Var 8. Presto non troppo
15:39  Finale. Andante

The rendition is by Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, conducted by Dima Slobodeniuk.