(piano) in a Brahms programme
Eleven waltzes from Op. 39
Variations on a theme of Paganini, Op. 35 (selected from both books)
Brahms was one of the greatest composers of variations and, as with Beethoven, the variation was one of his favourite forms. The Paganini Variations, based on the theme of a popular Caprice for solo violin by Paganini, are a masterly example of Brahms's genius. Intended as studies of an extremely difficult character, they are at the same time pieces of great musical beauty and imagination. One of their chief features is ingenuity of part-writing, of which Brahms was such a master.