32 variations in C minor?

Question

Could someone please help me analyse this piece? I couldn't really find much information on the internet, and the program note criteria is that I cannot talk too much about the general background. It doesn't have to be long though, since I only need around 70-75 words. Please help. Thank you.

Answer 1

"The C minor Variations are strongly reminiscent of a Baroque chaconne, employing a short, eight-bar theme with a chromatically descending ground bass. Beethoven often effectively overcomes the terseness of the theme by grouping the variations together, as in nos. 1-3, 7-8, 10-11, 12-14, 15-16, 26-7, and 31-2. These groupings by no means exhaust the many relationships between individual variations, *which are based on general rhythmic and textural features and on modal contract (the Maggiore section, Variations 12-16, for example, embraces two of these groupings, and provides large-scale contrast after the agitated variation pair no. 10-11). Variation 31 provides a reprise of the original theme above an arpeggiated accompaniment, whereas in variation 32 a rhythmic elaboration of the theme leads upwards in register to the high C three octaves above middle C, marking the beginning of the coda. (This high C occurs for the first time among the sonatas in op. 57, composed in 1804-6, and reflects the upward expansion of register in the pianos available to Beethoven; in works up to op. 31, of 1802, the range rarely exceeds high F, a fifth lower."

*Hope you will not copy and paste this from the source site but really analyze it in your own words.

Answer 2

The best way to analyse a set of variations is to:
1. analyse the phrase and harmonic structure of the theme
2. Describe the organization of the variations (progressively more complex? Intensified? Grouping and the characteristics of the groups?

Or

Does he keep the same basic harmonic structure throughout the variations? Which variations represent an exception?

This is a typical way to look at variations. Given the short number of words available, just cover the major points, and avoid getting too detailed.

This link might give you some ideas

http://www.lafolia.com/archive/levin/levin200207lvb1.html

Answer 3

Yes, it most definitely is cast in the form of a theme and variations, The theme is one Beethoven used several times, from his Prometheus ballet music.

Answer 4

I believe he wrote it for a party.