3 Variation Sets: WoO 70, 64, 77

The compositions united here provide a good overview of the diversity of the variation genre in Beethoven's early piano works - and present such moderate technical demands that even advanced beginners might try their hand at them. Beethoven found the models for these variations in popular song collections (WoO 64 on a Swiss song), contemporary opera performances (WoO 70 on "Nel cor piu non mi sento" by Giovanni Paisiello), and his own compositions (WoO 77 on a theme from the finale of Piano Sonata op. 22). The revised musical text of the Henle Urtext edition, with its extensive preface and commentary section, was prepared on the basis of the Critical Report in the Beethoven Complete Edition and is published as a stand-alone edition from "Variations for Piano I/II" (HN 1267 and 1269). Ian Fountain provided the fingerings.