28 Variations on a Theme by Paganini in A Minor

When Brahms composed his Variations on a theme by Paganini in 1863, he was directly facing up to the virtuoso piano-writing of Liszt, who had himself written a set of variations on the same theme—Paganini’s famous Caprice No. 24 for solo violin—back in 1838. Brahms originally called his work “Studies” rather than “Variations”, and one can see why. In contrast with his previous set of variations, on a theme by Handel, Op. 24 (1861), which demonstrates contrapuntal rigour and compositional brilliance, the Paganini Variations take piano technique and bravura display as its principal point of departure. Brahms divided the work into two books, each a self-contained set of 14 variations with a scintillating coda. (Each book is prefaced with the theme, but if they are played together the theme itself is usually not repeated at the start of Book II.) In general terms, Book I places keyboard virtuosity in the music’s foreground, prioritising pianistic display over melodic development, whereas Book II is more subtle and sophisticated, making greater demands of interpretation alongside those of technique.