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A Tribute To Tchaikovsky: Vladimir Feltsman

Nimbus

$20.99 Jan 01, 2012

Tchaikovsky miniatures intimately played.

A Tribute to Tchaikovsky is a very attractive CD compilation of short, tuneful pieces highly characteristic of the composer. I suppose it’s not what you would call great piano music, rather a collection of pleasant miniatures that delight the ear. Mr Feltsman calls it intimate salon music and that’s a very good description. The general style is very much in the same vein as Tchaikovsky’s more well-known work The Seasons; if that appeals to you so will the contents of this disc. Most of the items presented here don’t plumb any great musical depths but it’s all very melodic and charming. The Thème original et variations opens the recital in splendid fashion - there’s clearly an innate natural feeling for the idiom, sparkling technique and the playing is beautifully understated as befits this kind of music. There are some similarities to Schumann in this opening piece as the sleeve-note suggests but it’s also unmistakably by Tchaikovsky. The final flourish is tremendously exciting. Two minor masterpieces bring the disc to a conclusion, the Méditation Op. 72 No. 5 with its memorable opening theme and dramatic central climax and the enchanting, Liszt-like Chant élégiaque Op. 72 No.14. The rest of the programme really does enter the world of salon music. There are echoes of Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schubert and Liszt to be heard throughout this disc. It would be harsh to suggest that the works contained here are stylised or derivative. The recital is well planned with notable mood-changes from piece to piece - romances, waltzes and tender nocturnes all have their place alongside more lively, technically challenging numbers.

Vladimir Feltsman performs the whole programme in a gentle introverted fashion and this approach sounds absolutely right. The playing is first rate with tasteful rubato and excellent control of dynamics; every detail and nuance shines through. This isn’t really concert hall music as such and at no time does the playing become hectoring, over-emotional or virtuosic for the sake of it. It’s all very natural and enjoyable. The pianist’s programme notes state that the pieces in this recording were selected to be heard as a single composition. I personally fail to make any such connection but that’s not really important. What matters here is that we have a marvellous recital on our hands and it deserves to be successful.

The piano sound is good rather than outstanding. It’s typical of many modern digital recordings, sounding a bit top-heavy and thin and lacking a true, deep resonant bottom end. It doesn’t have the thrilling resonance of a live concert grand. At least the image is set slightly back, making it a comfortable experience and the music-making has a natural impact. This disc is very much for Tchaikovsky enthusiasts and lovers of tuneful, romantic piano music. I hope nobody is put off by the CD cover which features a rather grumpy looking Feltsman. The image doesn’t quite sit well with the tuneful gems included on this disc.

-- John Whitmore, MusicWeb International

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A Tribute To Tchaikovsky: Vladimir Feltsman
Nimbus Jan 2012
CD
$20.99

Boulez: Piano Works

Naxos

$19.99 Sep 26, 2025

Pierre Boulez's early ambitions to become a concert pianist provided the impetus to write piano music as a composition student at the Paris Conservatoire. The Theme et variations pour la main gauche and Trois Psalmodies reveal his extraordinary talent in their compelling mix of energy, drama and playfulness. Presenting these works alongside two later compositions provides a unique glimpse into the full arc of Boulez's musical journey. These pieces are powerful, their emotions raw and unfiltered, offering listeners a chance to experience the early foundations and mature reflections of a master composer.

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Boulez: Piano Works
Naxos Sep 2025
CD
$19.99

Mix & Match

Faure: Masques et bergamasques; Theme et variations; Caligul

Naxos

$13.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 30% Mar 28, 2025

French music specialist, Jean-Luc Tingaud, conducts a selection of Faure's secular choral and theatrical music - works that remain relatively little known. Setting a text by Victor Hugo, Les Djinns is heard in Faure's version for choir and orchestra, while his first venture into incidental music, Caligula, focuses largely on the lives of the women in the Roman court rather than the Emperor. Featuring both instrumental and vocal movements, Masques et bergamasques evokes the Arcadian allure of the French fête galante style - antique, luminous and nostalgic. Also included is the premiere recording of Desire-emile Inghelbrecht's inventive and sympathetic arrangement of Faure's largest piano work, the Theme et variations.

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Faure: Masques et bergamasques; Theme et variations; Caligul
Naxos Mar 2025
CD
~~$19.99~~ $13.99

THEME & VARIATIONS / POETIC TONE PICTURES
ALTO Jun 2013
CD
$11.01

Bacri, Guglielmi, Lekeu & Messiaen: En Variant

Ars Produktion

SACD

$23.99 Jun 07, 2024

The Belgian-born composer Guillaume Lekeu (1870-1894) left us only a small oeuvre. One of his most important compositions is the Sonata pour piano et violon, which is dedicated to Eugene Ysaÿe. The great Belgian violinist described it as "a masterpiece that need not fear comparison with Franck's violin sonata in terms of it's wealth of ideas and melodic inspiration". Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) was one of the most original and versatile composers of the 20th century. His Theme et variations, composed in Paris in 1932 as a wedding present for his first wife, the violinist and composer Claire Delbos, and performed together a few months after their marriage, explores the ideas of time and rhythm in search of their possible variations. The sonata is a form that has also recently attracted the interest of Nicolas Bacri (*1961), one of the most performed and most recorded composers on the international music scene today. The Sonata No. 4 op. 148 "In the style of Brahms", which was composed between June and October 2018 at the request of Agnes Pyka and Laurent Wagschal, reflects this second tendency and is Bacri's great homage to the Hamburg master, for whom he harbours a special affection. The violinist Carlotta Malquoris and the pianist Andrea D'Amato are an established duo that performs enthusiastically at numerous concerts in Germany and abroad.

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Bacri, Guglielmi, Lekeu & Messiaen: En Variant
Ars Produktion Jun 2024
SACD
$23.99

THEMES & VARIATIONS

ELOQUENCE AUSTRALIA

$18.27 Jul 26, 2024

For his debut recording, Australian pianist Calvin Abdiel presents three technically complex piano works by three Romantic composers. All works are based on the theme/variation form. For Schumann's fiendishly challenging Etudes symphoniques, Calvin adds his own interpolated sequence of the posthumous variations. The equally demanding Liszt 'Reminiscences' is based around three melodies from Mozart's Don Giovanni, and the recital concludes with the acrobatic Paganini Variations of Brahms, which Clara Schumann referred as the 'Witch's Variations'. Dubbed by The Australian as the 'Piano Man' and noted for his 'extraordinary pianistic authority', the Indonesian/Australian pianist Calvin Abdiel is establishing himself as one of the finest young musicians internationally. He has given high profile performances in numerous countries, including Australia, Austria, Russia, Indonesia, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland. In 2021 he won the highest position of any Australian pianist at the Sydney International Piano Competition and also took out third prize.

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THEMES & VARIATIONS
ELOQUENCE AUSTRALIA Jul 2024
CD
$18.27

Theme varie

Chandos

$21.99 Jul 17, 2026

Conceived as a treasure trove of lesser-known French and Belgian repertoire, the works on this album span a forty-year period, from 1892 to 1932. A number of unifying threads run through the programme, perhaps the most significant of which is the influence of a composer whose music is not heard here at all: César Franck. Franck taught and championed Guillaume Lekeu and Mel Bonis; and Bonis in turn taught Charlotte Sohy, whose principal composition teacher was Vincent d'Indy, one of Franck's most devoted acolytes. The artists decided against including Franck's Violin Sonata in favour of the work by his fellow Belgian Lekeu, much more rarely recorded and hardly ever heard in the concert hall. A number of shorter works surround this sonata to form a uniquely rewarding programme, starting with Charlotte Sohy's Thème varié. Three works by Mel Bonis complement the duo's recording of her Violin Sonata on their previous album (CHAN 20275), whilst the two Élégies by Saint-Saëns have also been unfairly neglected. Fascinatingly, the second Élégie and Messiaen's Thème et variations are separated by just a dozen years, although they inhabit sound worlds seemingly decades apart. Elsa Barraine was Messiaen's contemporary and lifelong friend. Her haunting Nocturne seemed to provide a fitting conclusion to this programme.

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Theme varie
Chandos Jul 2026
CD
$21.99

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Reger: Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Beethoven / Variat
Centaur Records Mar 1989
CD
$18.99

American Ballet Theatre Vol 1 - Pillar Of Fire, Theme & Variations, Bruch Concerto
RCA Jun 2012
CD
$17.99

Sor: Variations for Guitar / El Khouri

Dynamic

$18.99 Sep 16, 2022

Fernando Sor was born at a time when the guitar enjoyed increasing prominence. He differed from other virtuoso-composers for the instrument such as Giuliani and Carulli due to his far greater sense of harmonic refinement. Sor’s studies and exercises have been fundamental to guitarists for two centuries, and his sequence of Themes and Variations are his best-known compositions. His three collections based on popular French melodies have enjoyed popularity as has Les Folies d’Espagne avec Variations et un Menuet, but his masterpiece remains the Introduction et Variations sur un Thème de Mozart, a sublime example of his skill.

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Sor: Variations for Guitar / El Khouri
Dynamic Sep 2022
CD
$18.99

Bagatelles & Variations

CPO

$18.99 Aug 01, 2025

Around the same time that Michael Korstick caused a sensation with the first and, to date, only recording of all Beethoven piano concertos (555 447-2), these recordings were also made. They shed light on the life of the "Titan" from the opposing perspectives of fashionable accessories and clever miniatures. These two aspects interweave in reverse chronological order: the Variations in C Minor from 1806 serve as the prelude, while the 24 variations on Righini's Venni Amore from 1791 conclude the portrait. In between, musical snapshots of the Bagatelles Op. 33 (1802) and Op. 119 (1822) frame the variations on an original theme, Op. 76 (1809), which would later become the Turkish March. In every piece, from the smallest vignette to the most intricate keyboard trick, the boundless imagination of one who set out to instill fear is at work.

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Bagatelles & Variations
CPO Aug 2025
CD
$18.99

Rak, S.: Variations On A Theme by John W. Duarte / Sonata Mo
Nimbus Jul 2005
CD
$20.99

Reger: Variations & Fugue On A Theme Of Ludwig Van Beethoven
BIS Nov 1993
CD
$21.99

Variations

Centaur Records

$18.99 Nov 16, 2018

Doug Rosener, a master of the marimba, presents a great program of contemporary works for Marimba. Works from composers Takatsugu Muramatsu, Dwayne Rice, David Gillingham, Gordon Stout, and Joaquin Turina are included, as well as Daniel Levitan's Baroque Suite, where Rosener is joined by flutist Alina Windell. Dr. Doug Rosener serves as Associate Professor of Percussion and Associate Director of Bands at Auburn University. In addition to teaching the applied percussion studio, Dr. Rosener teaches courses in percussion literature, percussion skills, Finale techniques, and directs the Auburn percussion ensemble and Auburn University Marching Band drumline. During Dr. Rosener's tenure, the drumline has been the subject of two separate features on VicFirth. Com, and both the percussion ensemble and steel band have appeared on Alabama public television.

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Variations
Centaur Records Nov 2018
CD
$18.99

Love in Variations

Berlin Classics

$20.99 Nov 13, 2015

A beautifully programmed collection anchored by the strength of Ragna Schirmer's piano. Clara and Robert Schumann borrow from each other's compositions in the early years of their great love affair in two sets of playfully intimate variations. Twenty years later, the theme is woven anew into two more sets of variations: a revisiting on the theme by Clara Schumann and one by her friend Johannes Brahms. Performing on an original Blu¨thner grand piano of 1856, Ragna Schirmer's long association with the music of both Clara and Robert deepens the sense of rediscovery of these rarely recorded works for the listener.

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Love in Variations
Berlin Classics Nov 2015
CD
$20.99

McCawley: 25 Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel - 16
SOMM Recordings Jul 2012
CD
$20.99

Brahms, J.: 25 Variations and Fugue On A Theme by Handel / M
Genuin Jan 2006
CD
$20.99

VARIATIONS
Temperaments Oct 2002
CD
$20.99

Beach: Variations On Balkan Themes
Centaur Records Sep 2009
CD
$18.99

Schumann: Beethoven Studies, Ghost Variations & Schubert Variations / Chauzu

Naxos

$19.99 Apr 08, 2016

Some of Robert Schumann’s rarest piano music can be heard in this disc, which ranges from his precocious Titania Overture arrangement to the Ghost Variations, the theme of which, he told his wife Clara, had been sung to him by angels. His Beethoven Studies survive in three sources, whilst his admiration for his contemporaries Schubert and Chopin is shown by two works containing a series of variations. The 1836 Third Sonata is included in the pre-1853 revision and also included is the original version of what became his very popular Toccata, Op. 7.

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Schumann: Beethoven Studies, Ghost Variations & Schubert Variations / Chauzu
Naxos Apr 2016
CD
$19.99

Variations / Sarah Beth Briggs

Avie Records

$9.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 50% Mar 24, 2023

Beethoven wrote in his diary that he wanted “to show the British what a treasure they have in God Save the King”, a reference to his set of variations on the national anthem, composed in 1803. Sarah Beth Briggs recorded the virtuoso set precisely one month before the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and the recording heralds the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023. The lesser-known Variations on an Original Theme in F major (1802) represent Beethoven the revolutionary. Uniquely, each variation was written in a different key which would have jarred the ears of the composer’s contemporaries. Sarah Beth Briggs’ collection of Variations underlines a lineage of the genre through the classical and Romantic eras. Opening the program is 9 Variations on a Minuet by Duport by Mozart, whom Beethoven greatly admired. The work takes a theme by cellist Jean-Pierre Duport, chamber music director of the court of the Prussian King, Friedrich Wilhelm II, from whom the composer hoped to gain favor. Mendelssohn’s Variations Serieuses was written as a tribute to Beethoven, and was included in an album of works that raised funds for the now famous bronze statue of Beethoven in Bonn. Mendelssohn’s near contemporary Brahms paid tribute to his troubled friend Robert Schumann, using a melody from Bunte Blätter (“Colorful Leaves”) in his poignant Variations on a Theme by Schumann.

REVIEWS:

Briggs’ execution is fluidly graceful and well-modulated. She approaches this repertoire with a studied care that betrays a love for the period and composers.

-- Wild Mercury Rhythm

All nine of Mozart’s Variations on a Theme by Jean-Pierre Duport, K 573 are quite delicate, sounding here almost as if they were played on a toy piano. Only the finale includes authoritative sounds. Beethoven’s 7 Variations on `God Save the King’ is sturdier; I especially enjoy the lively, witty, chordal IV. Also included is Beethoven’s 6 Variations on an Original Theme. In Variations Serieuses, Mendelssohn managed to write 17 imaginative ones. That number only slightly outdoes Brahms, who came up with 16 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann. Lovely music, elegant playing.

-- American Record Guide

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Variations / Sarah Beth Briggs
Avie Records Mar 2023
CD
~~$19.99~~ $9.99

Hummel: Diabelli Variations

Tyxart

$20.99 Nov 18, 2014

Franz Hummel was the first composer after Beethoven to use Anton Diabelli’s famous theme as the basis for an extended solo piano work. + These variations are like a humorous, tongue-in-cheek chronicle of music, and some stylistic quotations offer a challenge, as in a musical quiz, to guess who could possibly have written which variation. + Angela Cholakian is regarded as one of the most passionate and original pianists playing the romantic and contemporary literature. + With phenomenal technique she effortlessly puts into practice all that her obsessive imagination demands of her.

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Hummel: Diabelli Variations
Tyxart Nov 2014
CD
$20.99

Changes

Audite Musikproduktion

$20.99 Aug 07, 2026

Jimin Oh-Havenith dedicates this volume of her Schumann edition to his variations, which form the beginning, the core, and the conclusion of his unique piano oeuvre. In the fourth instalment of her widely acclaimed Schumann edition, Jimin Oh-Havenith turns to his works for piano in variation form. Three of the pieces recorded here occupy a singular place in Schumann's biography: both his first published composition, the Abegg Variations, and his final completed work, the so-called Ghost Variations, belong to this genre. The twelve Symphonic Etudes - situated chronologically at the heart of his piano output of the 1830s, long revered by pianists yet equally feared for their formidable technical demands - are likewise variations on a theme. Whereas the young Schumann, in the Abegg Variations, conjured a sparkling and virtuosic play on musical letters from the name of a Heidelberg acquaintance, the Ghost Variations unfold as a deeply moving dialogue between the gravely ill composer and his great models, Schubert and Mendelssohn Bartholdy. This extraordinary breadth of expression once again affords Jimin Oh-Havenith the opportunity to demonstrate the intensity and originality of her Schumann interpretation.

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Changes
Audite Musikproduktion Aug 2026
CD
$20.99

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Tristan Variations

Kontrapunkt

$22.99 Dec 01, 1998

“A Wondrous Love Story” takes its base in Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” as its sub title “Tristan Variations”indicates. Danish composer Bent Lorentzen has won numerous fi rst prizes in international competitions for composers. He is among the fi rst Danish composers “A Wondrous Love Story” takes its base in Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” as its subtitle “Tristan Variations” indicates. Danish composer Bent Lorentzen has won numerous first prizes in international competitions for composers. He is among the first Danish composers to explore the sonic element of music. “A Wondrous Love Story” has been performed in German and Danish theatres to the critics and audience’s acclaim.

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Tristan Variations
Kontrapunkt Dec 1998
CD
$22.99

BACH: GOLDBERG VARIATIONS

ERATO

$19.99 Feb 25, 2022

An ode to silence is how harpsichordist Jean Rondeau has described Bach's Goldberg Variations. "I feel they were written for silence, in the sense that they take the place of silence," he says. "All Bach is there in the Goldberg Variations... all music is there... and I will no doubt spend my life working on them." To prepare his interpretation he consulted an original printed edition of the work, containing Bach's own markings and corrections. "Through delving into this precious musicological source, I was able to make what I felt to be the most authentic choices." Rondeau performs the set of variations in it's complete form, with the indicated repeats and with judicious insertion of moments of silence.

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BACH: GOLDBERG VARIATIONS
ERATO Feb 2022
CD
$19.99