Konrad Lang

Variations around 16 bars of Beethoven

The 16 measures with the inconspicuous movement designation "L'istesso tempo di Arioso" and the performance designation "Perdendo le forze, dolente (Weary, lamenting)" are a self-contained section of Beethoven's Piano Sonata op. 110. With variations "around" the arioso, the attempt is made to vary the piece as a musical unit. As far as I know, Tilo Medek is the first to have written variations with this special claim in his "Sensible Variationen um ein Thema von Schubert für Flöte, Violine und Violoncello". Variation II is meant to illustrate that the expressive power of the plaintive melodic line in the arioso is also due to a symmetry that Beethoven does not even use compositionally. At first glance, the Arioso is a simple, strictly homophonic piece. Closer analysis shows that the melodic line is basically a canon for two voices with insertion at bar intervals. The third and fourth voices in Variation II imitate Beethoven's accompaniment and sigh motives. The canon explicitly expresses what Beethoven only implied in his melodic line: lament follows lament, there is no way out. The concluding g in measure 35 should be played "felt correctly" and not rhythmically correctly after a counted pause. Variation III deals freely with the expressive world of the arioso. Contemporary exaggerations have their place here. The melody line of the flute in measure 77/78 should also be played emotionally correct and not counted. The easiest way to practice these two measures is to combine left hand piano and flute at the beginning. Only when this "sits", the right hand piano is added. On the last quarter in measure 78, however, the flute and piano must meet again, because after that aggressive cor¬rectness is appropriate. The dotting in the left hand in measures 79 and 80 can be readily taken as triplet at first for relief. Variation IV shows that Beethoven's poignant melody resembles an alley hymn when turned into a major key and using certain rhythmic effects. Variation V follows this track, but in addition the contrapuntal experiments from Variation II are resumed. From measure 151 on, the melodic line from measure 77 of Variation III appears again and again. Here, too, it is always played sensitively and correctly and has its own expressive world beyond the other voices, while the flute and left hand piano remain rhythmically correctly related to each other. The ending from measure 177 cannot be played lively enough.