View source for Variations on a Theme of Paganini

{{Short description|Piano work by Johannes Brahms}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Paganini caprice24 theme.png|upright=1.35|thumb|Paganini's theme {{audio|Paganini caprice24 theme.mid|Play}}]]

'''Variations on a Theme of Paganini''', [[opus number|Op.]] 35, is a work for piano composed in 1863 by [[Johannes Brahms]], based on the [[Caprice No. 24 (Paganini)|Caprice No. 24 in A minor]] by [[Niccolò Paganini]].
==Structure==

The work consists of two books. Each book opens with the theme, Paganini's Caprice No. 24 in A minor, followed by fourteen variations. The final variation in each section is virtuosic and climactic.

Brahms intended the work to be more than simply a set of [[Variation (music)|theme and variations]]; each variation also has the characteristic of a [[Étude|study]].  He published it as '''''Studies for Pianoforte: Variations on a Theme of Paganini'''''. The work was dedicated to the piano virtuoso [[Carl Tausig]].
It is well known for its harmonic depth and extreme physical difficulty. A particular emphasis of the technical challenges lie on hand independence, with the left hand often mirroring the right hand throughout the piece or having its own set of obstacles.

[[David Dubal]] describes it as "a legend in the piano literature," <ref name="Dubal435">{{harv|Dubal|2004|p=435}}</ref> and "fiendish," "one of the most subtly difficult works in the literature."<ref>{{harv|Dubal|2004|p=49}}</ref> [[Clara Schumann]] called it ''Hexenvariationen'' (Witch's Variations) because of its difficulty.<ref>{{harv|Swafford|1999|p=281}}</ref> Dubal quotes critic [[James Huneker]]:
<blockquote>“Brahms and Paganini! Was ever so strange a couple in harness? [[Caliban]] and [[Ariel (The Tempest)|Ariel]], [[Jove]] and [[Puck (A Midsummer Night's Dream)|Puck]]. The stolid German, the vibratile Italian! Yet fantasy wins, even if brewed in a homely Teutonic kettle ... These diabolical variations, the last word in the technical literature of the piano, are also vast spiritual problems. To play them requires fingers of steel, a heart of burning lava and the courage of a lion.<ref name="Dubal435" />”</blockquote>

==See also==
* [[List of variations on a theme by another composer]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|title=The Art of the Piano: Its Performers, Literature, and Recordings |url=https://archive.org/details/artofpianoitsper0000duba|url-access=registration |edition=3rd|last=Dubal|first=David |publisher=Amadeus Press |year=2004}}
* {{cite book|title=Johannes Brahms: A Biography|last=Swafford|first=Jan|publisher=Vintage Books, Random House|location=New York|year=1999|isbn=978-0679745822}}

==External links==
* {{IMSLP2|work=Variations_on_a_Theme_by_Paganini%2C_Book_I_%28Brahms%2C_Johannes%29|cname=Paganini Variations, Book I|work2=Variations_on_a_Theme_by_Paganini%2C_Book_II_%28Brahms%2C_Johannes%29|cname2=Book II}}
*{{cite web|url=http://muswrite.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/brahms-studies-for-pianoforte.html|title=Brahms - Studies For Pianoforte, Variations On A Theme Of Paganini Opus 35|last=Beggerow|first=Alan |publisher=Musical Musings Blog |date=January 23, 2014}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.kellydeanhansen.com/opus35.html|title=Opus 35 Listening Guide - Variations on a theme of Paganini (Studies for Piano)|last=Hansen|first=Kelly Dean|date=January 9, 2009}}
*{{cite thesis|last=Zhou|first=Wenli|type=[[Doctor of Musical Arts|D.M.A.]]|title=Piano Variations by Liszt, Brahms and Rachmaninoff on a Theme by Paganini |url=http://scholarship.rice.edu/bitstream/handle/1911/70520/ZhouW.pdf?sequence=1|year=2012 |publisher=[[Rice University]]}}<!--The letterhead says Rice, that shows a clear preference to me.-->
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrFKU1bdoQU Book 1], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJb4RQO_EvU Book 2] played by [[Julius Katchen]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lOJuePXd9Q Variations on a Theme of Paganini (selected)] played by [[Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1vKjjT9iU4 Book 1], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS-I_y_K2RI Book 2] played by [[Sviatoslav Richter]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxzyXeSYl28 Book 1], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oczTk--V_c Book 2] played by [[Claudio Arrau]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8EcVj-2Fao Book 1], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttAzsKIOGDw Book 2] played by [[Shura Cherkassky]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XM_5u2fjVI Book 1] played by [[Emil Gilels]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNqesVgu5zY Variations on a Theme of Paganini (selected)] played by [[Wilhelm Backhaus]]

{{Johannes Brahms}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Piano pieces by Johannes Brahms]]
[[Category:Variations|Paganini]]
[[Category:Piano études|Brahms]]
[[Category:1863 compositions]]
[[Category:Compositions in A minor]]
[[Category:Composer tributes (classical music)]]
[[Category:Niccolò Paganini]]

{{classical-composition-stub}}