Cédric Tiberghien – Variation[s] vol.2 (24/192 FLAC)

Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, John Cage, George Crumb, Morton Feldman, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
Performer: Cédric Tiberghien
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Catalogue: HMM90243536
Release: 2024
Size: 4.1 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

CD 01
Beethoven: 32 Variations in C minor, WoO 80
01. Theme. Allegretto
02. Variation I
03. Variation II
04. Variation III
05. Variation IV
06. Variation V
07. Variation VI
08. Variation VII
09. Variation VIII
10. Variation IX. Espressivo
11. Variation X
12. Variation XI
13. Variation XII
14. Variation XIII
15. Variation XIV
16. Variation XV
17. Variation XVI
18. Variation XVII
19. Variation XVIII
20. Variation XIX
21. Variation XX
22. Variation XXI
23. Variation XXII
24. Variation XXIII
25. Variation XXIV
26. Variation XXV. Leggiermente
27. Variation XXVI
28. Variation XXVII
29. Variation XXVIII
30. Variation XXIX
31. Variation XXX
32. Variation XXXI
33. Variation XXXII

Sweelinck: 6 Variations on “Mein junges Leben hat ein End”, SwWV 324
34. Variation I. Allegretto
35. Variation II
36. Variation III. Più lento
37. Variation IV.
38. Variation V. Più lento
39. Variation VI. Andantino

Beethoven: 24 Variations on “Venni Amore”, WoO 65
40. Theme. Allegretto
41. Variation I
42. Variation II
43. Variation III
44. Variation IV
45. Variation V
46. Variation VI
47. Variation VII
48. Variation VIII
49. Variation IX
50. Variation X
51. Variation XI
52. Variation XII
53. Variation XIII
54. Variation XIV
55. Variation XV
56. Variation XVI
57. Variation XVII
58. Variation XVIII
59. Variation XIX
60. Variation XX. Scherzando
61. Variation XXI
62. Variation XXII
63. Variation XXIII. Adagio sostenuto
64. Variation XXIV. Allegro

Bach: Aria variata alla maniera italiana, BWV 989
65. Aria
66. Variation I. Largo
67. Variation II
68. Variation III
69. Variation IV. Allegro
70. Variation V. Un poco allegro
71. Variation VI. Andante
72. Variation VII. Allegro
73. Variation VIII. Allegro
74. Variation IX
75. Variation X

Bach: Partita for solo violin No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004
76. V. Chaconne (Arr. for Left-Hand Piano by Johannes Brahms)

CD 02
Beethoven: 5 Variations on “Rule, Britannia!”, WoO 79
01. Theme. Tempo moderato
02. Variation I
03. Variation II
04. Variation III
05. Variation IV
06. Variation V. Allegro

Feldman: Last Pieces
07. No. 1, Slow – Soft
08. No. 2, Fast – Soft
09. No. 3, Very slow – Soft
10. No. 4, Very fast – Soft as possible

Beethoven: 6 Variations in G Major, WoO 77
11. Theme. Andante, quasi allegretto
12. Variation I
13. Variation II
14. Variation III
15. Variation IV. Poco sostenuto
16. Variation V
17. Variation VI

Cage: 7 Haiku
18. No. 1, For Elsa
19. No. 2, For Merle Armitage
20. No. 3, For Aghavni Uomini
21. No. 4, For Richard Lippold
22. No. 5, For Maro Ajemian
23. No. 6, For Willem de Kooning
24. No. 7, For Sonia Sekula

Beethoven: 9 Variations on a March by Ernst Christoph Dressler, WoO 63
25. Theme. Maestoso
26. Variation I
27. Variation II
28. Variation III
29. Variation IV
30. Variation V
31. Variation VI
32. Variation VII
33. Variation VIII
34. Variation IX. Allegro

35. Crumb: Processional

Beethoven: 12 Variations on “Menuet a la Vigano”, WoO 68
36. Theme. Allegretto
37. Variation I
38. Variation II
39. Variation III
40. Variation IV
41. Variation V
42. Variation VI
43. Variation VII
44. Variation VIII
45. Variation IX
46. Variation X
47. Variation XI
48. Variation XII. Allegro

49. Cage: In a Landscape

Beethoven: 7 Variations on “God Save the King”, WoO 78
50. Theme
51. Variation I
52. Variation II
53. Variation III
54. Variation IV
55. Variation V. Con espressione
56. Variation VI. Allegro alla marcia
57. Variation VII

After a formidable first volume, Cedric Tiberghien continues his exploration of Beethoven’s corpus of variations. At the heart of this new album are the famous Thirty-two Variations in C minor and their tangy reminiscences of Bach – the Ciaccona from Partita No.2 for violin solo, presented here in Brahms’s masterly transcription. He also takes the opportunity to show us what a certain school of American composers (Crumb, Cage, Feldman) has made of this tradition of variation form.

This is the second volume in pianist Cedric Tiberghien’s survey of Beethoven’s variations for piano. The pieces here are mostly youthful ones, written while Beethoven was still a touring pianist. Beethoven composed a lot of variation sets, although he didn’t always speak well of them later; when he heard someone playing the 32 Variations in C minor, WoO 80, he asked who had written it, and then, learning that it was himself, exclaimed, “Oh, Beethoven, what an ass you were back then!” Yet, it is an entertainingly varied piece that is not unconnected to Beethoven’s transcendent late variation style. Tiberghien also includes some rarely heard pieces, such as the 24 Variations on “Venni amore,” WoO 65, variations on Rule, Britannia! (WoO 79), and God Save the King (WoO 78), as well as assorted other early works. These often contain examples of Beethoven’s rough humor, nicely caught by Tiberghien, and, while not profound, are probably worth hearing more often. As on his first volume, Tiberghien includes variations by other composers as intermezzi. This is the sense of the curious “Variation(s)” title; here, the works are more contemporary, and the ones by John Cage and Morton Feldman seem to come out of left field. The Beethoven performances, however, are solid, and one hopes that perhaps a third volume, containing the Diabelli Variations, Op. 120, is still on the way. The album made classical best-seller lists in early 2024.