Cédric Tiberghien – Variation[s] vol.1 (24/192 FLAC)

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Robert Schumann, Anton Webern
Performer: Cédric Tiberghien
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Catalogue: HMM90243334
Release: 2023
Size: 4.78 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

CD 01
Beethoven: Variations & Fugue in E-Flat Major, Op. 35 “Eroica Variations”
01. Introduction. Allegretto vivace
02. Theme
03. Variation I
04. Variation II
05. Variation III
06. Variation IV
07. Variation V
08. Variation VI
09. Variation VII. Canone all′ottava
10. Variation VIII
11. Variation IX
12. Variation X
13. Variation XI
14. Variation XII
15. Variation XIII
16. Variation XIV (minore)
17. Variation XV (maggiore). Largo
18. Finale (alla fuga). Allegro con brio

Beethoven: 6 Variations in F Major, Op. 34
19. Theme. Adagio cantabile
20. Variation I
21. Variation II. Allegro, ma non troppo
22. Variation III. Allegretto
23. Variation IV. Tempo di Minuetto
24. Variation V. Marcia. Allegretto
25. Variation VI. Allegretto
26. Coda. Allegretto – Adagio molto

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major, K. 331
27. I. Tema con variazione
28. II. Menuetto – Trio
29. III. Alla turca

Beethoven: 6 Variations in D Major, Op. 76
30. Theme. Allegro risoluto
31. Variation I
32. Variation II
33. Variation III
34. Variation IV
35. Variation V
36. Variation VI. Presto

CD 02
Schumann: Etudes in Variation Form on a Theme by Beethoven, WoO 31
01. No. 1, Un poco maestoso
02. No. 2
03. No. 3
04. No. A6, Passionato
05. No. 4, Molto moderato
06. No. A10, Prestissimo
07. No. B7
08. No. 5
09. No. B5, Cantando
10. No. 6, Presto
11. No. A7, Idee aus Beethoven
12. No. 7
13. No. B4
14. No. A11, Legato teneramente
15. No. B3

Beethoven: 7 Variations on “Kind, willst du ruhig schlafen”, WoO 75
16. Theme. Allegretto
17. Variation I
18. Variation II
19. Variation III
20. Variation IV
21. Variation V
22. Variation VI
23. Variation VII. Allegro

Beethoven: 9 Variations on “Quant’e più bello”, WoO 69
24. Theme. Allegretto
25. Variation I
26. Variation II
27. Variation III
28. Variation IV
29. Variation V
30. Variation VI
31. Variation VII
32. Variation VIII

Cédric Tiberghien has long been interested in the principle of Beethovenian variation, as is demonstrated by a disc he made for harmonia mundi twenty years ago. He now proposes a project on a quite different scale, in which all Beethoven’s variation cycles will be juxtaposed with works illustrating the evolution of the genre, from the Renaissance to the present day. Here is the first part of a trilogy that promises to be fascinating!

One may be puzzled initially to see Mozart, Schumann (twice), and Webern on a program in a cycle devoted to the complete variation sets of Beethoven, but this is a typically ambitious idea from pianist Cédric Tiberghien and the music of the other composers mostly has connections to Beethoven. Schumann’s Etudes in Variation form on a Theme by Beethoven, WoO 31, are underrated indeed, weaving quotations from several other Beethoven symphonies into its basic material from the slow movement of the Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92. Perhaps the Webern Variations, Op. 27, are the odd piece out here; it is debatable whether they are variations at all, but in a way, the pieces by the other composers strengthen Tiberghien’s main thesis, which is that Beethoven’s variations are fully serious works that shouldn’t be underestimated. His cycle opens with the Variations and Fugue in E flat major, Op. 35, called the “Eroica Variations” because they use a theme that recurred in the finale of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55. Tiberghien gives these a big, sweeping performance that suggests the work’s prominence in Beethoven’s output. Yet even the smaller sets, based on simple operatic arias of the day, have some weight in Tiberghien’s performances, which indicate ways in which Beethoven worked out problems of register and harmony in these works. By the end, when Tiberghien offers a transcendent performance of Schumann’s Geistervariationen (the last work Schumann wrote, already in the grip of madness), the listener has the feeling of having been on quite a ride. One is excited to discover the content and structure of Tiberghien’s next volume, which presumably will include the Diabelli Variations, Op. 120.