Classical Music | Cello Music

Recorded on 12/19/2012, uploaded on 05/29/2013

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Rossini revised his opera Moses in Egypt in 1891 and added Moses' prayer-aria '"Dal tuo stellato soglio",  which ended up being one of the most popular tunes of the day.  This theme has inspired countless variations, perhaps the most famous of which is by the violin virtuoso Nicolo Paganini. (He allegedly wrote them while in jail on the one remaining string left on his violin.) The Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů has taken one of Paganini´s variations on this theme and built his own variations on that variation, resulting in variations on a variation on a theme.  Unlike the earlier Beethoven variations, these variations are full of virtuosity and tongue-in-cheek humor, testing the limits of both instruments.      Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.