Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 03/14/2008, uploaded on 03/14/2010

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel        Johannes Brahms

Brahms completed the Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel in September 1861. It was published with no dedication but it was given as a birthday gift to Clara Schumann and the original manuscript bears the title "Variations for a beloved friend." This piece is a grand testament to Brahms' remarkable proficiency in the Classical tradition of composition. The choice of the Baroque theme, the strictness of the variations and the incredible display of contrapuntal technique in the fugue all point to Brahms' never-ending study of the music of past periods. The variation form itself was also a form in which Brahms developed a supreme mastery of and this is nowhere more evident than in the grand variation sets from the middle of his career. Despite its deep-rooted stance in tradition, the Handel Variations even managed to impress Wagner. Arnold Schoenberg later called it "properly understood good old tradition" and the great music writer Donald Tovey numbered it among "the half-dozen greatest sets of variations ever written."

The piece is set out on a grand scale and it is clear that Brahms was in some way influenced by Bach's Goldberg Variations and Beethoven's Diabelli Variations. The piece consists of twenty-five variations on Handel's theme and a concluding fugue that forms the climax of the piece. The theme, itself, is from the Air with Variations from Handel's first B flat Harpsichord Suite, of which Brahms owned a 1733 First Edition. The theme is simple, structurally and harmonically, making it the perfect candidate for variations. Brahms confines himself to the formal outlines of Handel's tune, often including the exact repetition of each half, and also uses exclusively the original key of B-flat, with some occasional excursions into the tonic minor. While this may seem like strenuous restraints to place upon oneself, it provides a convincing structural unity to the work and it gives Brahms the freedom to explore many different characters throughout the work. The final fugue is colossal. Its contrapuntal complexity recalls more the image of Bach than Handel, and the "open" form of the fugue gives it a strong resemblance to Beethoven's Hammerklavier. Denis Matthews compares it to the organ works of Bach, stating that it bears more in common with those fugues than anything in the Well-Tempered Clavier.

The Handel Variations established Brahms as one of the foremost composers for piano during the Romantic and a staunch proponent of Classical tradition. Along with thefollowing Paganini Variations, Brahms showed himself as the supreme Romantic, bridging the gap between tradition and the unbridled Romantic spirit.

Joseph DuBose

Live performance, Steinway Hall, 2008