Beethoven: 32 Variations in C Minor, Wo O 80 ( Perahia, Mustonen, Kissin)

B. had a huge natural gift for variation form, but of the 21 sets of variations he wrote, he only saw fit to give opus numbers to 4 of them. Its hard to tell exactly why this set never made it, though its not so surprising, perhaps, that B. didnt think too highly of it (theres an anecdote unverified that B. dismissed this set later in life when he heard someone else playing it, saying Oh, Beethoven, what an ass you were in those days ). The WoO 80 has none of the Diabellis deconstructionist, hyperarchitectural leanings, or any of the Eroicas exploratory playfulness and warmth. Its theme is incredibly short (even terse), none of the variations undertakes any daring transformations of it, and compared to the Diabelli or Eroica the expressive space it occupies is small and overwhelmingly pessimistic its almost always tragic, stormy, threatening, or moody. But its these very features which combine to give this set of variations a concision, power, and expressive directness thats made