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09/10/2024
“200 Years: Diabelli Variations”
Ludwig van Beethoven: Diabelli Variations, opus 120
Jan Nepomuk August Vitásek, Ignaz Moscheles, Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Carl Czerny, Friedrich Kalkbrenner, Václav Jan Tomásek, Franz Schubert, Franz Liszt & Johann Nepomuk Hummel: Variations on Diabelli’s Theme
Dina Parakhina (piano)
Recording: Spencer Cozens Studios in Fulbeck, England (February 5 and 6, 2023) – 69’15
Divine Art DDX 21135 – Booklet in English, French, and German
 
Covid may have robbed Ludwig van Beethoven of a 250th anniversary party in 2020, but there have been plenty of recordings of his major works observing bicentennials in recent years. Considering the publication dates of the last work in each genre, the Symphony No. 9 (1824), the Piano Sonatas (1822), and the String Quartets (1826) are noteworthy for new issues. And let us not overlook the monumental piano behemoth known as the Diabelli Variations (1824).
The work is rightly categorized as among the “late period” compositions of the composer, yet the variations seem to sweep back to Beethoven’s classical past and then hurl a rainbow‑like arc into the mysterious future foretold in the late piano sonatas and quartets. When we consider the number of variations, it’s almost as though we are crowning this work as the Piano Sonata No. 33. Through its startling measures, we enter a maze in which our minds wander in unfamiliar patterns. Its potential for emotional unrest can lead to jarring experiences of laughter, speculation, and transcendence.
Because this extraordinary work demands more insight than any one pianist can provide, we need to listen to many points of view to enjoy a close-to-complete experience. The Russian‑born pianist Dina Parakhina, a piano professor and fellow at London’s Royal College of Music, offers a unique perspective on this work that nudges us closer to understanding while delivering an overview of beauty, taste, and intrigue. Parakhina’s playing speaks with authority and elegance. There is a clarity to her technical touch and interpretive skill that I found illuminating, though not definitive. Yet within the fraternity of pianists who elucidate this massive creation, she has earned a place of distinction.
In this new recording from Divine Art, Parakhina reaffirms her leadership both as a master virtuoso and a thoughtful interpreter. In Parakhina’s version, the work begins briskly and cool, her tone clear, almost metallic. The air bristles with nervous energy in the opening variation, but by the second and third, she has already tipped the lid, so to speak, and offered us a peek at the transcendental direction of this work. There is no attempt to link movement to movement with a unifying flow. Rather, each section speaks with an individual articulation: forthright and invincible. Parakhina offers us a Beethoven capable of explosive bursts of sound, ranging from the frantic and sinister (seven and eight) to the swaggering (nine) and crisply eloquent (15).
Am I the only one to hear an almost boogie-woogie-ish sashay (16), leading on to variations both mysterious (20, reminiscent of parts of the final piano sonata) and Mozartean (22)? At times, she seems to be channeling the composer’s improvisational inclinations (23), at other times—hands held low over the keys—revealing a menacing sweep (25). A tribute to the classical style (31) precedes a strong performance of Beethoven’s master fugue at Variation 32, which seems to capture the entire trajectory of great music from the time of Bach to Beethoven’s final years and beyond. Parakhina ties up all these disparate statements in a final variation of inescapable charm.
And speaking of charm, this album also includes Parakhina’s elegant reading of several of the single variations contributed by other composers who rose to Diabelli’s challenge. These trinkets were composed by Hummel, Czerny, Moscheles, Schubert, and others, as well as the 11‑year‑old Franz Liszt. Oh, to have seen their faces when they first heard what Beethoven had wrought!
Linda Holt
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