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Works in theme-and-variation form have been written through most of the history of classical musicThis article is about the broad genre of classical music in the Western musical tradition. For the period of music in the 18th century see Classical music era, for articles on classical music of non-Western cultures, see: List of classical music tradition. A favorite form of variations in Renaissance musicLeonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, an example of the blend of art and science during the Renaissance The Renaissance was a great cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern Eur was divisions, a type in which the basic rhythmic beat is successively divided into faster and faster intervals. The basic principle of beginning with simple variations and moving on to more elaborate ones has always been present in the history of the variation form, since it provides a way of giving an overall shape to a variation set, rather letting it just form an arbitrary sequence.
Two famous variation sets from the BaroqueBaroque music is Western classical music from the Baroque era, after the Renaissance music era and before the Classical music era proper. This roughly covers the time period from Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) through Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). era, both for harpsichordA harpsichord is the general term for a family of European keyboard instruments, including the large instrument nowadays called a harpsichord, but also the smaller virginals the muselar virginals and the spinet . All these instruments generate sound by pl, are George Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric Handel ( German Georg Friedrich Handel , ( February 23, 1685 April 14, 1759) was a German-born British Baroque music composer. His best-known work is Messiah , an oratorio set to texts from the King James Bible. It is customarily performed's "Harmonious Blacksmith" set, and Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach ( March 21, 1685 July 28, 1750) was a German composer and organist of the Baroque period, and is almost universally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. His works, noted for their intellectual depth, technical comma's Goldberg VariationsFor the novel by Nancy Huston, see The Goldberg Variations (novel). The Goldberg Variations BWV 988, is a theme and variations by Johann Sebastian Bach, originally written for the harpsichord but nowadays frequently performed on the piano. Composition The, which together with Beethoven's late variations is widely considered to represent the pinnacle of the form.
In the Classical era, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote a great number of variations, such as the first movement of his Piano Sonata in A, K. 331, or the finale of his Clarinet Quintet . Mozart favored a particular pattern in his variations: the penultimate variation is in slow tempo, often acting as a kind of extra slow movement in a multi-movement work; and the final variation is fast and in bravura style. Joseph Haydn specialized in sets of double variations , in which two related themes, usually minor and major, are presented and then varied in alternation; one example is the slow movement of his Symphony #103, the "Drumroll".
Ludwig van Beethoven wrote many variation sets in his career. Some were independent sets, of which the most substantial are considered to be the "Diabelli" variations, Op. 120. Others form single movements or parts of movements in larger works, such as first movement of the Piano Sonata Op. 26 , or the variations in the final movement of the Third Symphony. Variation sets that listeners often consider to be among Beethoven's most profound musical utterances occur in several of his late works, such as slow movement of his string quartet Op. 127 , the second movement of his final piano sonata, Op. 111, and the slow movement of the Ninth Symphony. Franz Schubert wrote five variation sets using his own lieder as themes. A highlight of these is the slow movement of his string quartet "Death and the Maiden" ("Der Tod und das Mädchen", D. 810), an intense set of variations on his somber lied (D. 531) of the same title. Schubert's Piano Quintet in A ("The Trout", D.667) includes a blithe set of variations on his equally blithe "The Trout" ("Die Forelle", D. 550).In the Romantic era, the variation receded somewhat in importance, but many composers nevertheless created variation sets. A standout was Johannes Brahms, whose Classical tendencies perhaps naturally inclined him to writing variations. Some of Brahms's variation sets rely on themes by older composers, for example the variations for orchestra on a theme (thought in Brahms's time to be) by Haydn and the variations for piano on a theme by Handel.
Variation sets were also composed by 20th century composers, including Arnold Schoenberg (the Variations for Orchestra ), Anton Webern (the Variations, Opus 27 for piano and Variations, Opus 30 for orchestra), Paul Hindemith, and Benjamin Britten (including the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Purcell) and the Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge ).