Anton Diabelli
Compositions for: Piano
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11 Sonatinas for Piano Solo11 Sonatinas, Opp.151, 1682 Potpourris aus 'Rigoletto'2 Sonates mignonnes, Op.1502 Sonatinas for Piano 4-hands, Op.2420 Duettinos24 Original Ländler28 Melodische Übungsstücke, Op.1493 Sonatinas for Piano 4-hands, Op.1524 Leichte und angenehme Rondino, Op.1405 Sonatinas for Piano 4-hands, Opp.24, 54, 58, 606 Allemandes pour la Guitarre et Piano Forte, Cahier II7 Piano Sonatinas, Op.168A
Alla TurcaAllegretto in C majorC
ConcordanceD
Der achtzehnte Oktober, Op.94Die ersten 12 Lectionen am Pianoforte, Op.125Différentes piéces très faciles pour guitare et pianoforteDivertimenti molto facili per Forte-Piano e Chitarra, Op.56G
Glorreiche Rückkehr Franz des AllgeliebtenGrand Cello Sonata, Op.92Grande Sonate brillante pour le Pianoforte et Guitare, Op.102J
Jugendfreuden, Op.163L
Lamentationen für die KarwocheLe bouquetier, Op.151P
Pot-pourri aus Beethoven's beliebtesten WerkenR
RomanzeS
Sonata for Piano 4-hands, Op.32Sonata for Piano 4-hands, Op.33Sonata for Piano 4-hands, Op.37Sonata for Piano 4-hands, Op.38Sonata for Piano 4-hands, Op.73Sonata for Piano and Guitar, Op.71Sonate pour Piano et Guitare, Op.71Sonatina for Piano 4-hands, Op.54Sonatina for Piano 4-hands, Op.58Sonatina for Piano 4-hands, Op.60Sonatina in A major, Op.68Sonatina in G major, Op.70V
Valses Melodieuses, Op.141Variations sur un Theme favorite de Rode, Op.97Vaterländischer KünstlervereinW
Waterloo TänzeWeihnachtslied, Op.170Arrangements for: Piano
2 Sonatinas for Piano 4-hands, Op.2428 Melodische Übungsstücke, Op.1493 Sonatinas for Piano 4-hands, Op.152Alla TurcaDie ersten 12 Lectionen am Pianoforte, Op.125Jugendfreuden, Op.163Parts for: Piano
20 DuettinosWikipediaAnton (or Antonio) Diabelli (6 September 1781 – 7 April 1858) was an Austrian music publisher, editor and composer. Best known in his time as a publisher, he is most familiar today as the composer of the waltz on which
Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his set of thirty-three
Diabelli Variations.
Diabelli was born in Mattsee near Salzburg, then in the Archbishopric of Salzburg. A musical child, he sang in the boys' choir at Salzburg Cathedral where he is believed to have taken music lessons with
Michael Haydn. By the age of 19 Diabelli had already composed several important compositions including six masses.
Diabelli was trained to enter the priesthood and in 1800 joined the monastery at Raitenhaslach, Bavaria. He remained there until 1803, when Bavaria closed all its monasteries.
In 1803 Diabelli moved to Vienna and began teaching piano and guitar and found work as a proofreader for a music publisher. During this period he learned the music publishing business while continuing to compose. In 1809 he composed his comic opera, Adam in der Klemme. In 1817 he started a music publishing business and in 1818 he formed a partnership with Pietro Cappi to create the music publishing firm of Cappi & Diabelli.
Cappi & Diabelli became well known by arranging popular pieces so they could be played by amateurs at home. A master of promotion, Diabelli selected widely-accessible music such as famous opera tune arrangements, dance music and popular new comic theatre songs.
The firm soon established a reputation in more serious music circles by championing the works of
Franz Schubert. Diabelli recognized the composer's potential and became the first to publish Schubert's work with "Erlkönig" in 1821. Diabelli's firm continued to publish Schubert's work until 1823 when an argument between Cappi and Schubert terminated their business. The following year Diabelli and Cappi parted ways, Diabelli launching a new publishing house, Diabelli & Co., in 1824. Following Schubert's early death in 1828 Diabelli purchased a large portion of the composer's massive musical estate from Schubert's brother
Ferdinand. As Schubert had hundreds of unpublished works, Diabelli's firm was able to publish "new" Schubert works for more than 30 years after the composer's death.
Diabelli's publishing house expanded throughout his life, before he retired in 1851, leaving it under the control of Carl Anton Spina. When Diabelli died in 1858 Spina continued to run the firm and published much music by
Johann Strauss II and
Josef Strauss. In 1872 the firm was taken over by Friedrich Schreiber and in 1876 it merged with the firm of August Cranz who bought the company in 1879 and ran it under his name.
Diabelli died in Vienna at the age of 76.
Diabelli composed a number of well-known Classical works, including an operetta called Adam in der Klemme, several masses, songs and numerous piano and classical guitar pieces. Numerically his guitar pieces form the largest part of his works. His pieces for piano four hands are popular.
Diabelli's composition Pleasures of Youth: Six Sonatinas is a collection of six sonatinas depicting a struggle between unknown opposing forces. This is suggested by the sharp and frequent change in dynamics from forte to piano. When forte is indicated the pianist is meant to evoke a sense of wickedness, thus depicting the antagonist. In contrast the markings of piano represent the protagonist.
The composition for which Diabelli is now best known was actually written as part of an adventuring story. In 1819, as a promotional idea, he decided to try to publish a volume of variations on a "patriotic" waltz he had penned expressly for this purpose, with one variation by every important Austrian composer living at the time, as well as several significant non-Austrians. The combined contributions would be published in an anthology called
Vaterländischer Künstlerverein. Fifty-one composers responded with pieces, including Beethoven, Schubert, Archduke Rudolph of Austria,
Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart (jun.),
Moritz, Prince of Dietrichstein,
Heinrich Eduard Josef Baron von Lannoy,
Ignaz Franz Baron von Mosel,
Carl Czerny,
Johann Nepomuk Hummel,
Ignaz Moscheles,
Simon Sechter, and the eight-year-old
Franz Liszt (although it seems Liszt was not invited personally, but his teacher Czerny arranged for him to be involved). Czerny was also enlisted to write a coda. Beethoven, however, instead of providing just one variation, provided 33, and his formed Part I of Vaterländischer Künstlerverein. They constitute what is generally regarded as one of the greatest of Beethoven's piano pieces and as the greatest set of variations of their time, and are generally known simply as the
Diabelli Variations, Op. 120. The other 50 variations were published as Part II of Vaterländischer Künstlerverein.
A sonatina of Diabelli's, presumably Sonatina in F major, Op. 168, No. 1 (I: Moderato cantabile), provides the title and a motif for the French novella Moderato Cantabile by Marguerite Duras.