This week’s listening log is dedicated to the German composer Boris Blacher (1903-1975) and his Variation 2 from ‘Orchestral Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 26’ composed in 1947. The work consists of 16 variations lasting anywhere from 20 seconds to 2 minutes. Blacher’s variations are built around the theme from the famous 24th Caprice in A-minor by Italian violinist Niccolò Paganini, which has been the subject of multiple notable variations by composers such as Brahms, Liszt, Szymanowski, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The theme is introduced by the solo violin at the beginning of the set of variations:

By the time we arrive at Variation 2, the transformed theme has been treated and passed from the clarinet to the solo oboe. The oboe is initially accompanied only by strings playing in pizzicato and then an ascending legato line from a single bassoon, eventually speeding up towards the final measures of the variation leading up to Variation 3.

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The oboe melodic line has some chromaticism but it’s mostly tonal, which having heard some of Blacher’s work for piano previously was a bit surprising. There is also some very interesting phrasing on the oboe which is very, well, jazzy. While that word is used so often that it seems to have lost a lot of meaning, the ornaments used by the oboe line as well as the articulations and the off-beat interplay with the bassoon reminded me instantly of music written for the clarinet in the dixieland style. All-in-all this is a big part of the reason why this variation has such a playful feel to it, the way the instruments play off each other’s minimal accompaniment makes it feel almost improvised.

Recording:
G. Herzog, H. Kegel, Dresdner Philharmonie, 1981. 'Blacher: Concertante Musik/Orchestral Variations on a Theme by Paganini/Piano Concerto No.2'. [online] Berlin: Eterna/Edel Germany GmbH.