Beethoven 12 Variations on 'See the conqu'ring hero comes', WoO 45

Recorded: 1st Nov 2021 KITCHENER-WATERLOO
Cello (e-Cello): Edward P Greiber
Pianist David-Michael Dunbar

LIVE Performance
Beethoven 12 Variations on 'See the conqu'ring hero comes', WoO 45
"...The Judas Maccabaeus Variations date from this Berlin visit; they, too, were published by Artaria (without an opus number) in 1797. The theme - probably the best-known from Handel's entire oratorio - was an especially felicitous choice on the part of the young Beethoven. He may not have known it, but Handel occupied a special place in Friedrich Wilhelm's affections. The king, during his days as crown prince, had declared his musical independence from his predecessor, Friedrich the Great, by sponsoring a massive performance of Handel's Messiah in the Berlin Cathedral. Beethoven, too, held Handel's music in the highest esteem. The theme, with its measured tread and lofty bearing, provided the composer with the basis for an engaging set of 12 variations. The eleventh variation, an extended adagio, is the longest "slow movement" Beethoven would write for cello and piano until his final work for the pairing, the Sonata, Op. 102, No. 2."

-- Written by John Mangum