BCP Education & Psychology ERHSS 2023 Volume 9 (2023) 1 Comparison of Beethoven's 32 Variations in C Minor Di Wu* Wuhan Conservatory of Music, Wuhan, China *Corresponding author: wudipiano@whcm.edu.cn Abstract. This article selects the recordings of Beethoven's "32 Variations in C Minor" performed by 4 world-renowned pianists as a sample. The whole work is considered from the overall performance style to the specific details. And this article compares and analyzes it from the aspects of speed, strength, rhythm and so on. The aim is to help people learn and interpret this work better. Keywords: Beethoven; Variation No. 32 in C minor; performance version research. 1. Introduction We usually take Beethoven's Third Eroica (1804) as the beginning of his heyday. Before that, the creation of early works was generally influenced by Mozart and Haydn, and strictly followed the symmetrical layout of classicism in structure. In the mid-term of creation, Beethoven's creation became more and more mature, and he continued to carry out a series of innovations. Beethoven broke through the shackles of creative forms. He paid attention to the expression of musical emotions, and formed his own unique and independent style. The works of this period are usually defined as "heroism". C minor was created in 1806. Before that, Beethoven had completed such great works as the "Dawn" Sonata and the "Passionate" Sonata. In 1806, Beethoven was composing the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies at the same time. We now name this work woo80. Woo is the English abbreviation without opus. Some scholars speculate that Beethoven only numbered works that he thought were worthy of official publication at the time, so we can think that this piece did not reach his requirements. However, this work was published later and was widely loved by pianists and audiences. [1] 2. Comparison of performance versions Since its inception, this work has been widely loved by pianists and audiences. Many performers have selected this piece in the concert and recorded it. Their performance styles are affected by various factors such as history and culture, growth experience, performers' personalities and understanding of works, thus forming different interpretation styles, which cannot be listed in this article. Here, four representative performance versions of Brendel published by Brilliant Classics in 2015, Gilels' London performance recording in 1968, Kissing's London performance recording in 1997 and Aarau published in Warner Classics in 2011 will be selected as The research object of this paper helps us to study this work from different angles. The piece consists of a short eight-bar theme with 32 variations. The scale of the work is second only to the 33 variations of Beethoven's great work "Diabelli Variations". The work has a huge structure and rich content. If we want to analyze the work systematically, we can divide the work into several different sections for Research. [2] According to the different musical characteristics of different tonality and variation texture, we can divide the work into the following parts. Part I in C minor: Variations I -III, Variations IV-VI, Variations VII - VIII, Variations VIIII, Variations X - XI (Table 1). Part II in C major: Variations XII, Variations XIII -XIV, Variations XV - XVI (Table 2). Part III in C minor: Variations XVII, Variations XVIII, Variations XVIIII, Variations XX -XXI, Variations XXII, Variations XXIII, Variations XX IV-XXV, Variations XXVI -XXVII, Variations XXVIII, Variations XXVIIII, Variations XXX (Table 3). Part IV in C minor: Variations XXXI, Variations XXXII (Table 4). BCP Education & Psychology ERHSS 2023 Volume 9 (2023) 2 Table 1. Theme and Variations I- XI Virtuoso Speed Rhythm Processing, tone Whether there is a large interval between variations Theme Brendle 94 Strictly follow the rhythm Moderate volume sound stable and thick Gilels 104 Slight delay on polyphony Loud voice Kissin 88 Slight delay on polyphony Clean and bright sound Arrau 72 Slight delay on polyphony Moderate volume touch keys are loose I-III Brendle 94 Strictly follow the rhythm Strong touch, strong staccato chords No Gilels 126 Strictly follow the rhythm Both hands play in short staccato notes, No Kissin 132 Strictly follow the rhythm Both hands play in short staccato notes, No Arrau 100 Variation III end crescendo Chords preserve the duration of notes Yes IV-VI Brendle 94 Strictly follow the rhythm Variation IV has an even tone for longer staccatos No Gilels 126- 108- 126 Variation V, the first sentence of each measure is tight, and the next sentence is loose Variation IV is a long staccato in the high voice, and a short jump in the middle and low voices Yes Kissin 132-68- 140 Variation V, the first sentence of each measure is tight, and the next sentence is loose Variation IV continues the short staccato, emphasizing the middle voice triplet Yes Arrau 80-68- 124 Variations IV, VI ending with slowing down Variations IV are all longer staccatos, and the treble part is longer than the other two parts Yes VII- VIII Brendle 94 Strictly follow the rhythm Clear ups and downs, clear voice No Gilels 76 Variation VIII has a noticeable crescendo at the end Gentle ups and downs, soft voice Yes Kissin 54-70 Variation VIII has a noticeable crescendo at the end The sound is soft and very romantic Yes Arrau 72 Variations VII, VIII end with a slowing down Gentle ups and downs, soft voice Yes IX Brendle 94 Strictly follow the rhythm All three voices are clear Yes Gilels 74 Significant slowdown at the end The treble part is clear, the middle and low parts are hazy Yes Kissin 46 Emphasis on the second beat, with a clear gradual slowdown at the end The treble part is clear, the middle and low parts are hazy Yes Arrau 60 Significant slowdown at the end All three voices are clear Yes X-XI Brendle 94 Strictly follow the rhythm Octave is firm and powerful, running evenly and clearly No Gilels 104 Significant deceleration at the end of variation xi Octave is light and fast, running evenly and cleanly Yes Kissin 90 Strictly follow the rhythm Octave is short and powerful, with a strong sense of running push Yes Arrau 80 Significant deceleration at the end of Variation XI Octave is firm and powerful, running strong and full Yes BCP Education & Psychology ERHSS 2023 Volume 9 (2023) 3 Table 2. Variations XII-XVI Virtuoso Speed Rhythm Processing, tone Whether there is a large interval between variations XII Brendle 62 strictly follow the rhythm Very weak, rustic, soft No Gilels 60 Extended second beat, emphasizing syncopation Medium volume, still maintaining the heroic character of the minor theme No Kissin 54 Extended second beat, emphasizing syncopation Medium volume, still maintaining the heroic character of the minor theme No Arrau 60 strictly follow the rhythm Medium volume, still maintaining the heroic character of the minor theme There is a big pause XIII- XIV Brendle 66-72 strictly follow the rhythm Soft weak voice, natural phrases No Gilels 80 Variation XIII long tone slightly extended, making the melody more singing Medium volume, natural phrases No Kissin 66-72 Variation XIV ends with a crescendo Medium volume, very vocal No Arrau 66-72 Variation XIV ends with a crescendo Full sound with natural phrases No XV- XVI Brendle 70-76 strictly follow the rhythm Variation XVI full sound No Gilels 74-80 Variation XVI has a crescendo at the end Variation XVI full sound No Kissin 48-52 The rhythm is relatively free, and the phrases are divided into tight middle and loose ends Variation XVI full sound Yes Arrau 66-72 The rhythm is relatively free, and the phrases are loose in the middle and tight at both ends Variation XVI full sound Yes Table 3. Variations XVII-XXX Virtuoso Speed Rhythm Processing, tone Whether there is a large interval between variations XVII Brendle 70 Strictly follow the rhythm Very weak, rustic tone No Gilels 72 Extended second beat, emphasizing syncopation Moderate volume, smooth, high-pitched sound bright No Kissin 50 The rhythm is relatively free, emphasizing the syncopated rhythm Very singing Yes Arrau 66 Slow down Medium volume, clear sound Yes XVIII Brendle 74 Strictly follow the rhythm Simple music No Gilels 108 Basically by rhythm Bold and powerful, the scale is like the wind, ignoring individual notes and focusing on momentum No Kissin 96 Basically by rhythm Rough and powerful, emphasizing the end of the scale, highlighting the stress of each beat No Arrau 94 Slow down Strong voice Yes XVIIII Brendle 100 Strictly follow the rhythm Medium volume No Gilels 108 Basically by rhythm Run fast like a storm No Kissin 96 Basically by rhythm Emphasize the first beat of each measure, and the volume contrast between the upper and lower sentences is obvious No BCP Education & Psychology ERHSS 2023 Volume 9 (2023) 4 Arrau 94 Slow down The left hand is strong in singing, and the right hand is dexterous Yes XX-XXI Brendle 100 Strictly follow the rhythm Full and powerful chords No Gilels 110 Basically by rhythm Strong sense of chord line, softer sound No Kissin 102 Basically by rhythm Firm and powerful, the running part has a clear sense of impetus, emphasizing the third beat No Arrau 108 Basically by rhythm Medium volume Yes XXII Brendle 104 Slow down Firm and full No Gilels 108 Basically by rhythm Firm and full No Kissin 94 Basically by rhythm Firm and full No Arrau 100 Basically by rhythm Firm and full No XXIII Brendle 82 Strictly in rhythm Very weak Yes Gilels 58 Basically by rhythm Full-bodied sound, highlighting repetitive sound lines Yes Kissin 60 The melody on the first beat is slightly extended Very singing, prominent first beat, free rhythm No Arrau 62 Slow down, slow down Full tone No XXIV- XXV Brendle 90-92 By rhythm Weak voice No Gilels 136-100 By rhythm Variation 24 is short and powerful, variation 25 has a soft sound, and the left hand is a longer staccato No Kissin 150-118 By rhythm Both variations are short and powerful, full of rhythm No Arrau 106-76 By rhythm Both variations are longer staccatos with a softer sound No XXVI- XXVII Brendle 90 Strictly follow the rhythm The sound is simple, not too strong No Gilels 108-114 Strictly follow the rhythm Calm and powerful voice No Kissin 118-120 Strictly follow the rhythm The voice is sharp, powerful, passionate and explosive No Arrau 90-94 Strictly follow the rhythm The sound is round and not overly strong No XXVIII Brendle 78 Strictly follow the rhythm Soft singing Yes Gilels 84 Slow down Soft singing Yes Kissin 100 Slow down Bright and smooth sound Yes Arrau 80 Slow down Soft singing Yes XXVIIII Brendle 94 Strictly follow the rhythm The clauses are obvious, emphasizing the first sound of each sentence No Gilels 110 Strictly follow the rhythm The sound is full of explosive power, and the strength and weakness of phrases fluctuate obviously No Kissin 120 Strictly follow the rhythm Sharp and explosive voice No Arrau 100 Strictly follow the rhythm The sound is round and not overly strong No XXX Brendle 66 Strictly follow the rhythm Plain and simple sound No Gilels 62 Slow down Singing No Kissin 52 By rhythm Expressive and expressive Yes Arrau 60 By rhythm Plain and simple Yes BCP Education & Psychology ERHSS 2023 Volume 9 (2023) 5 Table 4. Variations XXXI-XXXII Virtuoso Speed Rhythm Processing, tone Whether there is a large interval between variations XXXI Brendle 76 Strictly in rhythm Natural sound No Gilels 82 Strictly in rhythm Singing softly Yes Kissin 58 Strictly in rhythm Full of fantasy No Arrau 78 Strictly in rhythm Natural sound No XXXII Brendle 76-86-80 By rhythm The last 10 bars are marked strictly according to the music score, and the crescendo of the left hand is obvious No Gilels 82-104-96 By rhythm The ending is clean and powerful, and the last two notes are calm and steady No Kissin 58-118-90 More speed changes The timbre changes richly, full of romantic colors, and the ending is short and clean No Arrau 78-94-74 By rhythm The sound is thick and the music style is stable No 3. Performance version evaluation Brendel (Alfred Brendel, 1931 -) is considered to be the authoritative interpreter of the works of Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven and Liszt. He was the first pianist to record the complete works of Beethoven's piano music (1964). Blundell's playing was considered "sane", and he believed that the pianist's first task was to respect the composer's intentions rather than to express himself and add to his own making of the music. He once said: "I am responsible to the composer, and particularly to the piece." The 32 variations he played, like his previous ones, highly followed the specific marks on Beethoven's score, and the rhythm and volume of the whole piece were grasped very strict. Except for the changes marked by Beethoven, Blundell has almost no free play in processing. The Beethoven he plays is simple and simple, the music style is straightforward, and he can combine emotion and reason in a rational and rigorous way. His performance is most intrusive to the classical style, with rigorous rationality and delicate timbre, which is a typical representative of the Vienna School. [3] Gilels (Emil Gilels, 1916 — 1985) is one of the representatives of the Soviet piano school, his playing is firm and powerful, with explosive force. It is known as "steel-like touch key". This coincides with the spirit of Beethoven. The 32 variations he played, both poetic and skillful, not only maintained the inner tension required by the work, but also handled the timbre delicately and gracefully. In addition to the superb skills, it also incorporates sincere emotions, and the timbre of the entire piece exudes a translucent brilliance. The famous German music critic Kaiser once quoted Goethe's impression of Beethoven when talking about Gilels: "I have never seen an artist so concentrated, so energetic, and so introverted." Kissin (Yevgeny Kissin, 1971 —) As a representative of the younger generation of the Russian piano school, his playing style is gorgeous and full of passion. His performance follows the tradition of the Soviet piano school, with superb technique and strong appeal. Compared with the other three performers, Kissing's 32 Variations are bold and exaggerated without loss of proportion. Rich timbre changes and dramatic speed changes all make this familiar work quite new. We can not only hear the shouts like a storm, but also feel the tranquility that seems to come from the depths of our hearts. He dedicated his extraordinary technique to the music and integrated his musical taste and understanding to reproduce the power and beauty of this work in a new way. Claudio Arrau (Claudio Arrau, 1903-1991) is recognized as one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. And is considered the authoritative interpreter of Beethoven's works in the twentieth century. This is not only due to his convincing teacher-student relationship, Martin Krause, who he once studied under, was a student of Liszt, so Aarau inherited Beethoven-Czerny-Liszt to Martin Krause. Piano performance tradition, but also because of his in-depth study of Beethoven. BCP Education & Psychology ERHSS 2023 Volume 9 (2023) 6 Aarau participated in overseeing the compilation and publication of Peters' edition of Beethoven's piano sonatas. Arau's performance is strictly faithful to the original score, integrating pure classical style with profound emotion through rich timbre changes and brilliant performance skills. In his early performances, Arrau's playing speed was fast and his skills were excellent. His performances of Islami and Liszt's Paganini etudes are typical representatives of this type. However, after his middle age, he played at a slower speed. Slow down, and the playing style becomes more rigorous and personal, yet majestic. From the recordings we selected, we can find this characteristic of performance: Aarau is slower than other performers in the selection of most variation speeds, and he chooses to use more gradual slowdowns at the end of the variation than others. And choose a moderate volume. [4] On the whole, the performance of the German-Austrian School advocates rational performance, strictly respects the music work itself and its internal structure, pays attention to the inner thinking of music, and strives to reproduce the music work truly and objectively through performance. In comparison, the Soviet school paid more attention to the character and performance of music. While maintaining the classic character of the work, he combined his personal rich emotions to express the work to the best of his ability. Pay attention to the expression of each musical character. Interpretation of works by personal emotions occupies a very important position in the performance of the Russian school. 4. Summary Through the horizontal comparison and comprehensive analysis of the charts, we have a more intuitive understanding of these four performance versions. Although their performance styles are different, they all formed their own performance styles based on the analysis and study of the original works. Therefore, when we are studying this work, after dissecting and analyzing the various factors of the work, we also analyze and study the interpretation of different versions, and get a variety of interpretation methods from it, so as to actively help our own performance. References [1] Qian Renkang, Qian Yiping, Music Works Analysis Course [M], Shanghai: Shanghai Music Publishing House, 2011. [2] Yu Runyang (Editor), General History of Western Music [M], Shanghai: Shanghai Music Publishing House, 2007. [3] Zhao Xiaosheng, The Way of Playing the Piano [M], Shanghai, Shanghai Music Publishing House, 2013. [4] Lewis Lockwood. Translated by Liu Xiaolong. Beethoven: Music and Life, Beijing, Central Conservatory of Music Press, 2011.