Franz Liszt

Vaterländischer Künstlerverein

Vaterländischer Künstlerverein was a collaborative musical publication or anthology, incorporating 83 variations for piano on a theme by Anton Diabelli, written by 51 composers living in or

Background#

In 1819, the Viennese publishing house of Cappi & Diabelli invited a number of Austrian composers to contribute one variation each for the piano, on a theme written by Anton Diabelli himself, one of the principals of the firm. Diabelli’s theme is usually described as a waltz, but in form it has more of the character of a Ländler. and Diabelli had joined with Anton Spina and renamed the firm Diabelli & Co. Part II was published in late 1823 or early 1824 by Diabelli & Co., and includes the other 50 variations and Czerny’s coda. It is also not known how many composers were approached, but 51 responded to the invitation. Some well-known names such as Ignaz von Seyfried and Joseph Weigl do not appear. Whether they were not interested in participating or whether they were not even approached is not known. Apart from Beethoven’s 33 variations, 48 of the other 50 composers wrote only the one variation they were asked for. Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart and Gottfried Rieger wrote two variations each, but only one from each of them was originally published.

Part I, by Beethoven#

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, his last major piano work, is part of the keyboard music canon and is by far the better known volume. It is frequently performed and recorded to this day.

Part II, by various composers#

The composers of Part II include some names still notable today, but most of them have been forgotten. The variations were numbered in strictly alphabetical order according to the then current spelling conventions. The full list follows: :Note: Some of the composers gave no tempo indication, and they can be assumed to be played Vivace, as in the original theme.

Recordings and performances#

Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations have been recorded and performed many times. The remainder of Vaterländischer Künstlerverein has received very little attention since its publication. The complete set has been recorded by Rudolf Buchbinder. Martha Argerich has performed excerpts in concert.

Composer: Franz Liszt