Variations on a Theme of Beethoven

In addition to his own music, Beethoven dominates history because of his impact on subsequent performers and composers. Among those, Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) grew up in France surrounded mainly by German music, including Beethoven, Schumann, Liszt, and Wagner. Following his spectacular debut at age 10, Saint-Saëns entered the Paris Conservatory and later held numerous positions as an organist in Paris. Most of his career was spent working as a freelance musician, touring and performing, occasionally taking commissions, and composing prolifically. This was an era—not unlike Beethoven’s—when a market existed for arrangements of other composers’ works. Think of Liszt’s operatic paraphrases or transcriptions of Beethoven’s symphonies for solo piano.
Saint-Saëns brought all the tools necessary to succeed in that field. And in 1874, at the height of his power, he took a theme by Beethoven and treated it to ten variations. At first glance, the source material seems an odd choice. Not a globally familiar riff (think “Ode to Joy” from the Ninth Symphony, or something from one of the famous piano sonatas). No, Saint-Saëns drew upon the Trio theme from the third movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in E-flat, Op. 31 No. 3 (1802). As obscure as that may sound, the theme itself is not even melodic, not hummable. The related Minuet seems a more likely candidate for selection: lyrical, gracious. The Trio, by contrast, works by fits and starts. Perhaps the Frenchman sensed depths to explore in the silence between chords and in Beethoven’s striking harmonies. Whatever his motivation, Saint-Saëns put together a daring set of Variations on a Theme by Beethoven that makes full use of the two pianos.
The set opens with a curious, improvisatory introduction before the theme itself is heard. Already in Variation 1, the arpeggios are off and running. Fortunately, repeat signs give our ears a second chance to catch all the digital dexterity on display. Variation 2 is denser and more redolent of Schumann, while Variation 3 stands the main theme on its head (contour inversion being a standard device of any budding composer-pianist). The ensuing Variation 4 is a physical feat during which both pianists play the theme—alternating turns—in 16th-note full chords; this passage is as fun to watch as it is to hear. Variation 5 strikes a more tender tone via shimmering trills and high notes. Variation 6 unfolds more fleet arpeggios (mimicking var. 4) and passes by in a flash. No set of variations is complete without a movement in the minor mode. Saint-Saëns goes a step further by inventing a somber funeral march in C minor, Variation 7. Eerie chords toll like church bells above the insistent bass. Midway through, Saint-Saëns veers off into D-flat, and the harmonies slowly beginning melting away.
Variation 8 remains in the dark realm of C minor, grounded on a rumbling low bass. It leads to a reprise of the introduction and short cadenza. What ensues will be hard to guess unless you know Saint-Saëns’ penchant for neo-baroque counterpoint; recall that Saint-Saëns was a master organist, one who could improvise preludes and fugues like no one since old Bach. And here, as Variation 9, Saint-Saëns inserts an inspired four-voice fugue. The next variation (no. 10) is a presto in triple meter that seems to get stuck in relentless octaves. It sounds like a coda—and it is—but Saint-Saëns must first have one last reprise of the main theme, now given out in halting gestures and interrupted by rippling diminished 7ths.
For audiences captivated by virtuosity, Saint-Saëns’ Variations on a Theme by Beethoven astounds by its brilliance and daring. For those interested more in subtleties of compositional technique, there are still wonders to be found. And for those—myself included—who were skeptical that an obscure little Trio theme from the Minuet of Beethoven’s Op. 31 No. 3 could yield a successful set of variations, Saint-Saëns emphatically shows that his sense is spot on.

(c) Jason Stell