The Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn, consisting of a theme, eight variations and a finale, were composed in 1873 by Johannes Brahms. It was published in two versions: the variations for two pianos, written first but designated Op. 56b, and the same piece for orchestra, referred to as Op. 56a. In music, a theme is the initial or primary melody. ... In music, variation is a formal technique where material is altered during repetition; reiteration with changes. ... 1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calaber). ... Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833 – April 3, 1897) was a German composer of Romantic music, who predominantly lived in Vienna, Austria. ... A grand piano A piano is a musical instrument which is classified as a keyboard, percussion or string instrument, depending on the system of classification used. ... The Boston Pops orchestra performing on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston, Massachusetts. ...

The orchestral version is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 French horns (2 in E flat, 2 in B flat), 2 trumpets, timpani, triangle, and the normal string section of first and second violins, violas, cellos and double basses. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Flute (Ger. ... Modern Oboe The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... Two soprano clarinets: a B♭ clarinet (left) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... A Fox Instruments bassoon. ... Drawing of a Contrabassoon The contrabassoon or double bassoon is a larger version of the bassoon sounding an octave lower. ... The horn is a brass instrument consisting of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. ... Trumpeter redirects to here. ... A timpanist in the United States Air Forces in Europe Band. ... The triangle is an idiophonic musical instrument of the percussion family. ... The violin is a bowed stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart, the lowest being the G just below middle C. It is the smallest and highest-tuned member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello. ... The viola (in French, alto; in German bratsche) is a stringed musical instrument played with a bow which serves as the middle voice of the violin family, between the upper lines played by the higher violin (soprano register) and the lower lines played by the deeper cello (bass) and double... A cello The cello (the c is pronounced /ʧ/ as the ch in church) or cello, short for violoncello, is a stringed instrument and a member of the violin family. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ...

Origin of the theme

Recent scholarship has revealed that, despite the title of the work, the theme is very unlikely to be by Haydn. In 1870, Brahms's friend Carl Ferdinand Pohl, the librarian of the Vienna Philharmonic Society who was working on a Haydn biography at the time, showed Brahms a transcription he had made of a piece attributed to Haydn titled Divertimento No. 1. The second movement bore the heading St. Anthony Chorale; and while current usage still prefers the original title, Variations on the St. Anthony Chorale is the name favored by those who object to perpetuating a misattribution. Even that name, however, tells us very little: To date, no other mention of the so-called "St. Anthony Chorale" has been found. Franz Joseph Haydn (March 31 or April 1, 1732 – May 31, 1809) was a leading composer of the Classical period, called the Father of the Symphony and Father of the String Quartet. A life-long resident of Austria, Haydn spent most of his career as a court musician for the...

Form

The theme begins with a repeated ten-measure passage which itself consists of two intriguing five-measure phrases, a quirk that is likely to have caught Brahms's attention. Almost without exception, the eight variations follow the phrasal structure of the theme and, though less strictly, the harmonic structure as well. Each has a distinctive character, several calling to mind the forms and techniques of earlier eras, with some displaying a mastery of counterpoint seldom encountered in Romantic music. The finale is a magnificent passacaglia, itself a theme and variations on a ground bass, five measures in length, derived from the principal theme. Its culmination, a restatement of the chorale, is a moment of such transcendence that the usually austere Brahms permits himself the use of a triangle. Counterpoint is a musical technique involving the simultaneous sounding of separate musical lines. ... The era of Romantic music is defined as the period of European classical music that runs roughly from the early 1800s to the first decade of the 20th century, as well as music written according to the norms and styles of that period. ... In music a passacaglia (French: passacaille, Spanish: pasacalle) is a musical form and the corresponding court dance. ... The triangle is an idiophonic musical instrument of the percussion family. ...

Just before the end of the piece, in the coda of the finale, Brahms quotes a passage that really is by Haydn. In mm. 463-464, the violas and cellos echo the cello line from m. 148 of the second movement of the latter's "Clock" Symphony, one of the finest examples of Haydn's pioneering work in the symphonic variation form. The reader may compare the two passages by following these links: Brahms, Haydn (see below for link credits). Ironically, this fragmentary allusion may be the music's sole remaining link to the Master. Coda sign Coda (Italian for tail; from the Latin cauda), in music, is a passage which brings a movement or a separate piece to a conclusion through prolongation. ... The Symphony No. ... In music, variation is a formal technique where material is altered during repetition; reiteration with changes. ...

External links

The score of Brahms's Variations has been posted by the William and Gayle Cook Music Library at the Indiana University School of Music. The same library is the source of the Haydn link included in the comparison above.