SMA 25081 - 3  THE COMPLETE DIABELLI VARIATIONS     RUDOLF BUCHBINDER

TELEFUNKEN  GERMANY 1973     3LP BOX SET     BOOKLET      NM / EX+

In 1821 composer, piano teacher and music publisher Anton Diabelli invited composers and musicians associated with Vienna's musical life to contribute a variation on a waltz theme written by Diabelli himself. Two years later, submissions from over 40 different composers ( including the son of Mozart) had been received and Diabelli published the whole set in 1824, having delayed publication pending the completion of variations by visiting piano virtuoso Kalkbrenner and the tardy Czerny. Although Beethoven famously penned 33 variations - accounting for the first book, the other 50 contributors were content to submit one, which neatly filled the second book, the whole collection adding substantially to the profits of the publisher.