Beethoven, Eroica Variations, Op. 35

Last week we featured a major work of Beethoven, his Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”). This week I want to look at a related work that Beethoven composed for piano the year before in 1802. It’s a set of 15 variations and fugue on the same theme used in the last movement of the symphony, and it’s commonly called the “Eroica Variations.”

Let’s first go back to the symphony. The fourth movement begins at 37:25, and after a short introduction you will hear the variations begin at 37:40. A classical theme and variations normally begins with a statement of the theme followed by a series of variations. But Beethoven begins with just the bass line and then dives into the variations before finally stating the theme at 39:24. Here is the bass line (bottom staff) with the theme above it.

Beethoven follows this same scheme in the piano variations, beginning with just the bass line and stating three variations before arriving at the theme (2:52). Beethoven frequently tinkered with the standard conventions and constantly surprised listeners of the time. But this unusual beginning also points out a very important feature of Beethoven’s music: he was not a melodist but instead focused on the development of very short motifs. The opening bass line is an angular, non-melodic, statement that seems rather odd and incomplete. But Beethoven uses this as the kernel on which to build the entire work. You will hear it prominently in many of the variations.

When listening to the variations, be aware that each variation has a similar binary structure: an 8-measure phrase repeated, followed by a second 8-measure phrase repeated.

Photo: Yair-haklai (CC BY-SA 3.0)