Beethoven: Diabelli Variations, Op. 120 (33 Variations in C major on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli) - download (MP3 & FLAC)

In 1819 the Viennese publisher Anton Diabelli asked ‘the most excellent composers and virtuosi of Vienna and the Austrian Empire’, to write a variation on a waltz theme he had composed. Beethoven was also asked, and although he at first refused, he did finally deliver a cycle of 33 variations as his own contribution to this strange competition. His set was published separately in 1823. The 50 variations by the other composers appeared a year later, under the collective title of ‘National Society of Artists, Part 2’. From these, Jörg Demus chooses 32, basing his decisions both on the quality of the pieces themselves, and the playing-time of an LP, on which the recording first appeared. Played on various fortepianos of the time, this marks this unique recording’s first release on CD.

On this new CD award-winning French pianist Laurent Cabasso performs two great masterpieces of the nineteenth century, Beethoven’s 33 Variations on a Theme by Diabelli, and Franz Schubert’s ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy.

After studying with amongst others the great piano teacher and former pupil of Artur Schnabel, Maria Curcio-Diamand, Laurent Cabasso went on to win awards at several international competitions including the Geza Anda Prize in Zurich in 1982, and the Clara Haskil Competition in Vevey in 1987. Since then he has developed into a major international soloist and gives regular recitals and concerts in such centres as the the Tonhalle in Zurich, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and the Festspielhaus in Zurich. He has performed as soloist with all the major French orchestras, as well as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande with conductors including Charles Dutoit, Serge Baudo, Emmanuel Krivine, and Michel Plasson. He also appears regularly with some of today’s finest musicians, including Sonia Wieder-Atherton and the Rosamunde and Enesco quartets.

Laurent Cabasso was chosen by the Festival Chopin in Paris as one of the ten pianists who combined to perform the complete cycle of Chopin’s works given to mark the composer’s bicentenary celebration held in Chateauroux and Paris in 2010.

His solo recordings to date include CDs devoted to the music of Schumann, Prokofiev, and Beethoven the latter being chosen by Le Monde as one of the best CDs of the year. Recent distinctions have included a Diapason d’Or for a Liszt recording with the organist Olivier Vernet.