Diabelli Variations

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Diabelli Variations. Beethoven's Thirty-Three Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op.120, for pf., comp. 1819–23. The publisher Diabelli commissioned 50 composers to write a variation apiece on his theme and was delighted to receive 33 from Beethoven, instantly recognizing the work as a major masterpiece. Among the other composers who responded to Diabelli's request were Liszt (aged 11), Schubert, Drechsler, Schenk, Czerny, Kalkbrenner, Pixis, Moscheles, Stadler, Sechter, Hoffmann, and Archduke Rudolph.