Ludwig van Beethoven
Variations

About Ludwig van Beethoven's Variations

Variation form was a central feature of Beethoven’s piano writing in general, from his early years until the end of his life.
The many witty transformations of popular tunes give us an insight in how it might have sounded when the young Beethoven sat down to improvise at the keyboard, while works like the Eroica- and Diabelli Variations belong to the composer’s mature masterworks.
The Eroica set shares its theme, first featured in his early ballet The Creatures of Prometheus, with the last movement of the great third symphony. The monumental Diabelli Variations are based on the little waltz (originally dismissed by Beethoven as a “cobbler’s patch” that Anton Diabelli sent around to fifty different composers asking them to contribute with one variation each.

ID:3
Preview TitleKey Year Level
Nine Variations on a March by Dressler  WoO 63  in C Minor by Beethoven piano sheet music AAB Nine Variations on a March by Dressler WoO 632 C Minor 1782 8+
Six Easy Variations on a Swiss Song  WoO 64  in F Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAC Six Easy Variations on a Swiss Song WoO 6417 F Major 1791 6
24 Variations on "Vieni amore" by Righini  WoO 65  in D Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAD 24 Variations on "Vieni amore" by Righini WoO 657 D Major 1791 8+
13 Variations on "Es war einmal ein alter Mann" by Dittersdorf  WoO 66  in A Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAE 13 Variations on "Es war einmal ein alter Mann" by Dittersdorf WoO 6629 A Major 1792 8+
12 Variations on a theme by Haibel  WoO 68  by Beethoven piano sheet music AAF 12 Variations on a theme by Haibel WoO 68 N/A 1795 8
Nine Variations on "Quanto è bello l'amor contadino"  WoO 69  in A Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAG Nine Variations on "Quanto è bello l'amor contadino" WoO 6929 A Major 1795 8+
Six Variations on "Nel cor più non mi sento" by Paisiello  WoO 70  in G Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAH Six Variations on "Nel cor più non mi sento" by Paisiello WoO 7023 G Major 1795 8+
Eight Variations on "Ich hab' ein kleines Hüttchen nur"   in B-flat Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAI Eight Variations on "Ich hab' ein kleines Hüttchen nur" 33 B-flat Major 1795 8
Twelve Variations on "Das Waldmädchen" (a Russian Dance)  WoO 71  in A Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAJ Twelve Variations on "Das Waldmädchen" (a Russian Dance) WoO 7129 A Major 1797 8+
Eight Variations on "Une fièvre brûlante" by Grétry  WoO 72  in C Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAK Eight Variations on "Une fièvre brûlante" by Grétry WoO 721 C Major 1798 8+
Ten Variations on "La stessa, la stessissima" by Salieri  WoO 73  in B-flat Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAL Ten Variations on "La stessa, la stessissima" by Salieri WoO 7333 B-flat Major 1799 8+
Seven Variations on "Kind, willst du ruhig schlafen" by Winter"  WoO 75  in F Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAM Seven Variations on "Kind, willst du ruhig schlafen" by Winter" WoO 7517 F Major 1799 8+
Eight Variations on "Tändeln und Scherzen" by Süssmayr  WoO 76  in F Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAN Eight Variations on "Tändeln und Scherzen" by Süssmayr WoO 7617 F Major 1799 8+
Six Easy Variations  WoO 77  in G Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAO Six Easy Variations WoO 7723 G Major 1800 7
Six Variations Op. 34  in F Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAP Six Variations Op. 3417 F Major 1802 8+
15 Variations and a Fugue (Eroica) Op. 35  in E-flat Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAQ 15 Variations and a Fugue (Eroica) Op. 3511 E-flat Major 1802 8+
Seven Variations on "God Save the King"  WoO 78  in C Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAR Seven Variations on "God Save the King" WoO 781 C Major 1803 7
Five Variations on "Rule Britannia"  WoO 79  in D Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAS Five Variations on "Rule Britannia" WoO 797 D Major 1803 7
32 Variations  WoO 80  in C Minor by Beethoven piano sheet music AAT 32 Variations WoO 802 C Minor 1806 8+
Six Variations Op. 76  in D Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAU Six Variations Op. 767 D Major 1809 8+
33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli Op. 120  in C Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAV 33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli Op. 1201 C Major 1823 8+