32
~
Nin e Variations on
(j
"Quant' epin hello"
------------------
J Giovrumi PaisieUo 's La Molinar a was one of die
most successful operas of its time. It was pre-
miered in November 1790 in the Bw-gtJ1eater in Vienna
ru,d taken up again on 2 June 1795, from which time it
was played almost continuously tJ1rough to 1809. This
revival might well have been what occasioned Beethoven
to write vru·iations on one of its most famous tJ1emes.
They were issued in Decemb er of that same year by the
publisher Johrum Traeg in Vienna. l11 tJ1e publisher's
notificat ion of 30 December it said: "These variations
are quite new. They arc easy, flowing and by all meru1s
naive." With " naive" he probably meant: easy to under-
stand, catchy, not complica ted. As witJ, mru1y oilier eru·ly
compositions (see nos. 2-4) by Beethoven, ilie autograph
of these Variations has not sw-vived . BeetJ10ven dedicat-
ed the work to his first patron in Vienna, Prince Lich-
nowsky. The compose r even lived in tJ1e Prince's house in
the Alsergasse between ilie yeru·s 1794 and 1795.
As with mru,y vru·iation cycles from the Classical
era, this one also places a great many demands
on the pianist. As regards the theme, we recommend
bringing out the melody notes in the sixths ru1d thirds
in the right hand a little, preparin g the little melodic
climaxes in mm. 3 and 7 witl, a small crescendo each
time and placing a slight emphasis on tl,e e2-a2 at the
close in m.14. The grace notes in m.19 should be kept
verv short.
In Vru·. I eighth-n ote a ·iplets encircle tl1e melody line.
These triplet garlands - they are staccato, vru·ied by the
addition of short grace notes or single slw-s over two
notes - are to be played witl, a cleru·, precise touch.
Var. II takes up the sixths in ilie ilieme once again, tltis
time embellis hed into sixteenil i-note figures. In the sec-
ond section the alternat ing figure dtt-e2, which is pre-
sented in differen t registers and alternates from f to p ,
determi nes the character.
Thema
Allegretto
5 Wo069
Level of diffic,tft
J/1/5
Spirited sextuple ts in the left hand lend Var. Ill f
ward-m oving zest. They should be played very cal 0 r-
.
and with a certam brd1anlill' Th 1v
_ce.d b e youiliful and ear fresi1
chru·acter is further un er me . y the marked sforzati.
The upper voice of the octaves 111 the following Varia-
tion in the minor (Var. IV) should be slightly brought
out, as with the theme. We would recommend usino
fingerin g that, dependi ng on the size of the hand,~~
ternates between the fingers ~ -4 or even 5-4-3. The
rinf from m. 105 onward s (nnforzando = reinforcin o
so clearly stressed ) and the little hairpins in nun.109£'.
and 117 f. support the build-u p of the phrase.
In Vru·. V - once again in th_e maj_or -: you need to pay
attention to the portato art1culat1on m tl1e right hand
at the beginning (combin ation of dots and slurs).
Var. IV is a gracefu l study in trills. In order to be able
to master the interact ion between the two hands with
the even sixteent h notes, beat 1 (e.g. in mm. 145 and
147) can be slightly emphasised . The flow of the melo-
dy shou ld, however, he maintai ned and you should fo-
c~s on playing to the focal point of the ~dividual phra
ses. In the second section a dialogue ensues between
the left and right hands, wltich needs to be clearly
brought out.
Var. VTI thrives on the diverse articula tion ru,d tl1e rhyth-
mic delays, which are underlined by the if each time.
Particul ar attentio n should be paid to the -c::::::::: ::> in
the left hand in mm. 177-18 0 and 185 -188.
The cycle closes with an e)..1:ensive Tempo di Menuet-
to. The boistero us ascendi ng thirty-second notes in
m. 218 are reminiscent of Haydn and should be played
with delicate refinem ent. As in the previous varia-
tions, Beethov en notates diverse articula tion markings:
portato in mm.217 , 219 etc., slurs over two notes in
mm. 223 and 255 ff. , staccato in mm. 224 ff. , long slurs
in mm. 228££. etc. The numero us dynruruc markings
provide addition al colour.
 33

Var. I

3
34
Var. IJ 4 4

53

2 3 2 4 3 1 4 2 1 2 5

3 2

Var. III

6
 4
5 2 1 35
3 2 1

3 4

Var. IV
97 Minore 4 3
5,,_

2 1
5
2 1
4
3
5 12 1

- ...- ·~-. -
. ... -- #~~ .._-- q.
#~!:~!: q.... ~
3 4 5
b s
~ ii.~~ -- ~ -- ..~--
..... 4
a ~
113
~ ~ 2,

- - -~ -- -- .. -
'"" ~
I
ri y ... -
-
-
- r-L.:=- -
- u ,_
u-
.....
- 11
'""
y
y
- -
=: ..... ,_
u- ,_ " k -
- w,_
~
y
- . ----,,, --,,

"

---
~

-u "
tt•.....::__...;-
(
tJ rinf rinf
---- ~

- -
b--__
~--
.. _ - . ,,
- - -- -- --..- -
- w --CC-

-
~
,,_
- y ..

,,_
-
~

. - -
y

L •o

- -
- - - -- -
- - -
J
,,_

--- "
-LI
I J

I - 3 1 4 2
---- 2
4
2
3
2 1
4 5 5 1
36

5
2 5 4
1

4
2

Var. VI

3 2 412 312 3 5

f p 4 1 1
 37

1 1
3 2 1 2

Var. VII

5 1 3 2 3

1 2 1
3 4
5 5
38
Vru·. VUI

4 2
4

if

1 4

2 1
Var. IX
Tempo di Menuetto
5

r
1
5
 4 2 4
3 1 2

4
 40

255
ti ~ /~ ~ ~
;----
..... 2 vl -rl --~-
1

-~ - -
fl ~ ~

- -
r

I ~ "
- - - - - "' r

◄
) "
tJ
"

f
- ~
-==== -====
.. -
/[

-- - : -
--
: : - -- - - - r - --- --- - - -
- - - - -
r

-
L '• - TI

\ , ~
I I I
- I I I
r r

264

1 2 1 3 2 4 1 2 1 3 2