25 Variations & Fugue on a Theme of Handel in B‑Flat Major

Brahms was a master of variation form, and his mastery is nowhere more evident than in this magnificent set. Written in suburban Hamburg in 1861 and dedicated to Clara Schumann on her birthday, the Handel Variations show Brahms at his imperious best. It takes its inspiration from the simple but stately "Air" from Handel’s B-flat Major harpsichord suite in 1733, first plainly stating the theme before revealing its full potential in the variations that follow. Underlying his compositional approach is Brahms’ firm belief in "absolute music": in his 1860 manifesto, he had declared his opposition to the musical narratives of Liszt’s New German School and the music dramas of Wagner. For Brahms, beauty was to be found in the workings of form: hear how the character of this perky, upright little theme is given a kaleidoscopic transformation within the confines of B-flat Major, with only occasional excursions to the related minor key. Hear, too, how Brahms pays homage to popular dances of Handel’s era by including the siciliana and musette; how he sometimes couples the variations in pairs so that the second is intensified by our memories of the first; and how the last three variations build to the climax of the final fugue, an astonishing display of contrapuntal brilliance. Janus-like in looking simultaneously to past and future, Brahms shows us the foundations upon which the Austro-German musical tradition had been built—and the infinite potential they contain for fresh invention.