Beethoven: Diabelli Variations

Beethoven: Diabelli Variations

2022

After too many years away from the recording studio, pianist Mitsuko Uchida returned in 2022 with this truly revelatory album of Beethoven’s 33 Variations in C Major. Uchida’s Beethoven credentials have never been in question, but here her well-known fusion of poetic piano-playing and intellectual power makes for superb results. What is so striking is her grasp of the work’s huge and complex architecture: Each variation seems to emerge from its predecessor before passing on to its successor. Her creativity and inventive use of colour make each variation a pearl, yet a pearl that takes its place rightly on a beautifully assembled string of 33.

Tema. Vivace

0:53

Var. 1, Alla marcia maestoso

1:58

Var. 2, Poco allegro

1:00

Var. 3, L'istesso tempo

1:26

Var. 4, Un poco più vivace

1:03

Var. 5, Allegro vivace

1:01

Var. 6, Allegro ma non troppo e serioso

1:42

Var. 7, Un poco più allegro

1:20

Var. 8, Poco vivace

1:33

Var. 9, Allegro pesante e risoluto

2:15

Var. 10, Presto

0:44

Var. 11, Allegretto

1:13

Var. 12, Un poco più moto

0:59

Var. 13, Vivace

1:15

Var. 14, Grave e maestoso

3:56

Var. 15, Presto scherzando

0:40

Var. 16, Allegro

1:00

Var. 17, Allegro

1:03

Var. 18, Poco moderato

2:01

Var. 19, Presto

0:55

Var. 20, Andante

2:37

Var. 21, Allegro con brio - Meno allegro

1:20

Var. 22, Allegro molto, alla "Notte e giorno faticar" di Mozart

0:50

Var. 23, Allegro assai

0:59

Var. 24, Fughetta. Andante

3:14

Var. 25, Allegro

0:47

Var. 26, Piacevole

1:20

Var. 27, Vivace

1:01

Var. 28, Allegro

1:02

Var. 29, Adagio ma non troppo

1:26

Var. 30, Andante, sempre cantabile

2:32

Var. 31, Largo, molto espressivo

5:12

Var. 32, Fugue. Allegro

3:18

Var. 33, Tempo di Minuetto moderato

4:56

Ludwig van Beethoven

Composer
Mitsuko Uchida

Piano

Everett Porter

Producer
Dominic Fyfe

Producer, Executive Producer
Everett Porter

Recording Engineer
Jaap van Stenis

Assistant Recording Engineer, Assistant Engineer