Variations sérieuses, Op. 54, MWV U 156, is a composition for solo piano by Felix Mendelssohn consisting of a theme in D minor and 17 variations. It was completed on 4 June 1841. A typical performance lasts about eleven minutes.
The work was written as part of a campaign to raise funds for the erection of a large bronze statue of Ludwig van Beethoven in his home town of Bonn. The publisher Pietro Mechetti asked Mendelssohn to contribute to a 'Beethoven Album', published in January 1842, which also included pieces by Liszt, Chopin, Moscheles and others, of which the proceeds would go to the Monument.Todd, R. Larry (2003). Mendelssohn, A Life in Music, p.414. Oxford. (Schumann's Fantasie in C was the final result of a work originally intended for the same purpose).
Mendelssohn is known to have written three sets of piano variations, but only this one was published during his lifetime.[ Variations sérieuses, for piano in D minor, Op. 54; Composition Description]
The autograph manuscript of the set is preserved in the Jagiellonian Library.
Many of the variations require a virtuoso technique. Mendelssohn's good friend Ignaz Moscheles stated "I play the Variations sérieuses again and again, each time I enjoy the beauty again." Ferruccio Busoni also liked the work very much. Many pianists have recorded it, including Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter, Alicia de Larrocha, Rena Kyriakou, Vladimir Sofronitsky and Murray Perahia.
In 2009, Austrian composer Christoph Herndler composed "variations sérieuses variation after Mendelssohn Op. 54", a piece for organ or piano that brings together all the notes of the theme from Mendelssohn’s composition in a virtuosic tremolo passage played by both hands, while significantly stretching out the duration.
Structure
Theme: Andante sostenuto Variation 1 Variation 2: Un poco più animato Variation 3: Più animato Variation 4 Variation 5: Agitato Variation 6: A tempo Variation 7: Con fuoco Variation 8: Allegro vivace Variation 9 Variation 10: Moderato Variation 11: Cantabile Variation 12: Tempo del Tema Variation 13: Sempre assai leggiero Variation 14: Adagio Variation 15: Poco a poco più agitato Variation 16: Allegro vivace Variation 17 Coda: Presto
References
External links „Andante sostenuto” op 54: Mendelssohn's autograph manuscript in the Jagiellonian Library
Scorevideo on Youtube: Christoph Herndler: variations sérieuses variation after Mendelssohn Op. 54 (2009)