The ''Variations on a Nursery Tune'' for

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

, Op. 25, were written by

Ernst von Dohnányi Ernst von Dohnányi (Hungarian: ''Dohnányi Ernő'', ; 27 July 1877 – 9 February 1960) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and conducting, conductor. He used the German form of his name on most published compositions. Biography Dohnányi was bo ...

in 1914. It is subtitled "For the enjoyment of friends of humor, to the annoyance of others" () on the manuscript, though he omitted this inscription on the concert program and on the published edition, fearing that it might sound somewhat provocative. The work was premiered in Berlin on 17 February 1914.

Structure

The ''Variations on a Nursery Tune'' consist of an

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

and theme, eleven

variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individual ...

and a coda. * Introduction. Maestoso * Theme. Allegro * Variation I. Poco più mosso * Variation II. Risoluto * Variation III. L'istesso tempo * Variation IV. Molto meno mosso (Allegretto moderato) * Variation V. Più mosso * Variation VI. Ancora più mosso (Allegro) * Variation VII. Walzer (Tempo giusto) * Variation VIII. Alla marcia (Allegro moderato) * Variation IX. Presto * Variation X. Passacaglia (Adagio non troppo) * Variation XI. Choral (Maestoso) * Finale fugato (Allegro vivace) After a dramatic introduction, the theme –

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is an English lullaby. The lyrics are from an early-19th-century English poem written by Jane Taylor, "The Star". The poem, which is in couplet form, was first published in 1806 in '' Rhymes for the Nursery'', a c ...

– is introduced, followed by eleven variations on it, including a waltz and a more serious

passacaglia The passacaglia (; ) is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used today by composers. It is usually of a serious character and is typically based on a bass- ostinato and written in triple metre. Origin Th ...

. Dohnányi alludes to many different works, or composers' distinctive compositional styles, in the piece. For instance, variation 8 suggests the march from the second movement of

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

's "Little Russian" Symphony.

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

is alluded to, with the ethereal harmonies of the 11th variation. Dohnányi pokes fun at nearly every composer his audience of 1914 would have been familiar with.

Reception

The work made Dohnányi famous, particularly in England, where the audience "seemed to have a real sense of humor", and North America.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Variationsonnurserytune (Dohnanyi) Nursery Tune Compositions for piano and orchestra 1914 compositions Compositions by Ernst von Dohnányi