Unsung Orchestral Variations (with or without closing Fugue!)

[bulleid_pacific]

I've just acquired the Wilhelm Berger Variations and Fugue Op. 97 on Koch Schwann and was knocked out by it.  I love this form, and it got me wondering how many others there are (and how many others recorded)?

Discounting "Enigma" as wildly "sung", I also have multiple versions of the big Reger pair, the Helena Variations of Bantock, the Metamorphoseon by Respighi (love them!), the Chamisso set by Reznicek and the Parry Symphonic Variations (glorious) - and that's about it (or at least - all I can remember - I have a pretty large collection though....)

What chance of other Unsung sets of Variations coming my way?

[Alan Howe]

Berger is one of the unsung greats, IMHO. And his Op.97 isn't even his best work!

[bulleid_pacific]

I'm sure your opinion about what *is* is in another thread Alan, but I can't find it quickly.  Remind us all?  I'm very struck by him indeed.... although it will take us off topic in record time.....

[Alan Howe]

Try his Symphony No.2. There's a decent download available here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?aw5ppd3c9k2701d
Details here:
http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,1373.msg34866.html#msg34866

[Rainolf]

I can strongly recommend Otakar Ostrcils "Calvary", which uses the variation form to illustrate the passion of Christ. This work is interesting, too, for beeing rather a cycle of "Variationi senza tema", like Vaughan Williams wrote it in his (much later composed) 8th symphony, then a traditional "thema and variations" work. The opening makes me the impression of beeing not a theme in the traditional meaning, but a "deposit" of the main motives.

Then there is the "Don Juan" by Walter Braunfels, a brillantly scored variation work on Mozart's Champagner air from "Don Giovanni".

Is Robert Simpson to modern to be mentioned here? If not: He wrote some great variation pieces, foremost the 9th string quartet, containing 32 variations and a big fugue on a palindromic Menuett by Haydn, and the Variations about a Theme by Carl Nielsen for orchestra, where the possibilities of developing a theme, which uses four different keys simultaneously, are explored.

[Rainolf]

Does somebody here knows Hausegger's "Aufklänge", symphonic variations on a children's song?

[bulleid_pacific]

I can strongly recommend Otakar Ostrcils "Calvary"

.... which just goes to prove how stupid I am as I have the Neumann recording on Supraphon.  Duhhh...  forgot that completely.

[bulleid_pacific]

Does somebody here knows Hausegger's "Aufklänge"

I'd be very interested to hear about that although my only experience of Hausegger so far has been the Natursymphonie which strikes me as being Mahler with a bit of Zemlinsky admixed - nothing wrong with that except I'm not on it's wavelength quite yet...... maybe the variations that Mahler and Zemlinsky never wrote....

[bulleid_pacific]

Then there is the "Don Juan" by Walter Braunfels

Now that sounds great - the opera Die Vögel is simply charming.

Is Robert Simpson too modern to be mentioned here?

I'm guessing you'll get a good kicking for mentioning Robert Simpson from Alan or Mark - although I'll take the opportunity to say how much I love his Symphony 4, and hide under the abuse you might get 

[Jimfin]

The turn of the last century seemed to produce masses of variations: three lots by Hurlstone (Hungarian, Swedish and Original), Bantock's 'Helena' variations, Stanford's "Down among the dead men", Brian's [romantic] "Burlesque Variations", Parry's Symphonic Variations and some Enigma Variations by someone whose name escapes me.

[bulleid_pacific]

Stanford's "Down among the dead men"

I really meant purely orchestral as opposed to concertante works - there are quite a few in that vein.  But thanks for reminding me about the Stanford - time to break out the Fingerhut/Handley disc - although I think I'll enjoy PC2 a lot more 

[jerfilm]

OK, lash me with a wet noodle for mentioning this, but for a good "fun"  listen, I still really like the Variations on a Nursery Tune by Dohnanyi.......no fugue.....
J

[bulleid_pacific]

@jerfilm - me too - and to think that the whole thing sounds so threatening to begin with!  Definitely not a wet noodle moment - then out of all that gloom and menace springs a very innocent tune we knew from our cradles!

[Rainolf]

Of course, Dohnanyi! His two Symphonies both end with variations-and-fugue-movements!

[mbhaub]

One of my favorite forms, too.

Franz Schmidt was a master: Variations on a Hungarian Theme, the Beethoven Variations for Piano and Orchestra.
Dohnanyi: Variations on a Nursery Theme
Kodaly: Peacock Variations
Reger wrote several: on Mozart, Hiller, Beethoven

all well worth checking out.