Eroica Variations

The Variations and Fugue for Piano in E♭ major, Op. 35 are a set of fifteen variations for solo piano composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1802. They are commonly referred to as the Eroica Variations because variations on the same theme were used as the finale of his Symphony No. 3 Eroica composed the following year.

The theme used was a favorite of Beethoven's. It was featured in the finale of the ballet music he composed for The Creatures of Prometheus (1800) and then as the seventh of his 12 Contredanses, WoO 14 (1800-02) before being the subject of the variations of this work and of the later symphony. It begins thus:

In a departure from the classical theme-and-variations form, Beethoven opens the work not with the main theme, but the bass line to the main theme. He then follows with three variations of this bass line before finally stating the main theme. This approach was carried over from the ballet music, where it represented the gradual creation of life forms by Prometheus. The variations in the Eroica Symphony follow this same pattern. In another departure from traditional variation form, after the fifteen variations of the main theme, Beethoven finishes the work with a finale consisting of a fugue followed by an Andante con moto.

The work lasts about 25 minutes.

External links

• Eroica Variations: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• Recording by Katherine Chi from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format