Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op.24 (Piano) - Johannes Brahms 'Martha Goldstein'

Composition Year: 1861
First Performance: 1861-12-07 in Hamburg. Clara Schumann, piano
Performers: Martha Goldstein - Piano
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1. Aria
2. Variation 1
3. Variation 2. Animato
4. Variation 3. Dolce
5. Variation 4. Risoluto
6. Variation 5. Espressivo
7. Variation 6
8. Variation 7. Con vivacita
9. Variation 8
10. Variation 9. Poco sostenuto
11. Variation 10. Energico
12. Variation 11. Dolce
13. Variation 12. Soave
14. Variation 13. Largamente, ma non più
15. Variation 14. Sciolto
16. Variation 15
17. Variation 16. Ma marcato
18. Variation 17. Più mosso
19. Variation 18. Grazioso
20. Variation 19. Leggiero und vivace
21. Variation 20. Legato
22. Variation 21. Dolce
23. Variation 22
24. Variation 23. Vivace e staccato
25. Variation 24
26. Variation 25
27. Fuga
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Work:
The Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, is a work for solo piano written by Johannes Brahms in 1861. It consists of a set of twenty-five variations and a concluding fugue, all based on a theme from George Frideric Handel's Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in B♭ major, HWV 434. They are known as his Handel Variations.
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The music writer Donald Tovey has ranked it among "the half-dozen greatest sets of variations ever written". Biographer Jan Swafford describes the Handel Variations as "perhaps the finest set of piano variations since Beethoven", adding, "Besides a masterful unfolding of ideas concluding with an exuberant fugue with a finish designed to bring down the house, the work is quintessentially Brahms in other ways: the filler of traditional forms with fresh energy and imagination; the historical eclectic able to start off with a gallant little tune of Handel's, Baroque ornaments and all, and integrate it seamlessly into his own voice, in a work of massive scope and dazzling variety."
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Wikipedia's biography: https://bit.ly/3kbFPC0
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ATTRIBUTION
Music contained in this video is licensed under: EFF Open Audio License /