Shai Wosner – Beethoven: Diabelli Variations in C Major, Op. 120 (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Shai Wosner – Beethoven: Diabelli Variations in C Major, Op. 120 (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 53:08 minutes | 810 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Onyx Classics

In 1819 the publisher and composer Anton Diabelli invited 50 Austrian composers to write one variation a short waltz he had composed. He specified that it take up just one sheet (which he supplied) and this already contained his waltz. Composers such as Czerny, Moscheles, Hummel, Kalkbrenner, Liszt (just 10 years old), Schubert and Beethoven were among those invited. All except one provided their contribution. That one was Beethoven, who, electrified by Diabelli’s Waltz produced a massive work comprising 33 variations which was completed after the composer had completed the Missa Solemnis, and the last three piano sonatas. He delivered it to Diabelli in 1823, making it his final masterpiece. This huge work is one of the peaks of the repertoire for solo piano, it still baffles the listener, it still has the capacity to reveal more than we thought we knew about it. It makes extreme demands upon the performer and the listener, and in a great performance never ceases to surprise and shock the listener.

Is there a trait common to recordings conceived during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic? Probably not to all of them, but the isolation allowed a certain kind of in-depth exploration that is exemplified by this recording from Shai Wosner of Beethoven’s giant Diabelli Variations, Op. 120. Consider the very first variation, generally taken as a discrete chunk that sets the scene by finding the possibility of something imposing in Diabelli’s simple theme. Wosner breaks it up, emphasizing the little antiphonal answers by taking a little bit of time with them. It goes on from there; Wosner finds many small details that haven’t occurred to any other pianist. He joins the variations together with very little time between them, except for a few more substantial breaks. The result is that the work takes on almost a fantasy-like quality, with its substantial experimentation in tonality and texture being emphasized. Listeners intent on finding larger structural principles in the Diabelli Variations, akin to those in Bach’s Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, aren’t going to cotton to this reading, which is a bit busy despite a predominantly delicate, lyrical tone. However, Wosner deserves a great deal of credit for finding new things in a much-recorded Beethoven work. – James Manheim

Tracklist:
1. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Tema. Vivace (00:52)
2. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 1, Alla marcia maestoso (01:28)
3. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 2, Poco allegro (00:53)
4. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 3, L’istesso tempo (01:19)
5. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 4, Un poco più vivace (01:08)
6. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 5, Allegro vivace (00:57)
7. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 6, Allegro ma non troppo e serioso (01:41)
8. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 7, Un poco più allegro (01:09)
9. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 8, Poco vivace (01:20)
10. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 9, Allegro pesante e risoluto (01:46)
11. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 10, Presto (00:36)
12. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 11, Allegretto (01:04)
13. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 12, Un poco più moto (00:59)
14. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 13, Vivace (01:16)
15. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 14, Grave e maestoso (04:18)
16. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 15, Presto scherzando (00:42)
17. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 16, Allegro (00:59)
18. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 17, Allegro (01:01)
19. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 18, Poco moderato (01:24)
20. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 19, Presto (01:02)
21. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 20, Andante (02:41)
22. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 21, Allegro con brio – Meno allegro (01:15)
23. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 22, Allegro molto alla “Notte e giorno faticar” di Mozart (00:54)
24. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 23, Allegro assai (00:58)
25. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 24, Andante (02:22)
26. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 25, Allegro (00:53)
27. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 26, Piacevole (01:16)
28. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 27, Vivace (00:59)
29. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 28, Allegro (01:00)
30. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 29, Adagio ma non troppo (01:20)
31. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 30, Andante, sempre cantabile (01:55)
32. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 31, Largo, molto espressivo (04:26)
33. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 32, Fuga (03:00)
34. Shai Wosner – Diabelli Variations, Op. 120: Var. 33, Tempo di menuetto moderato (04:00)

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