The first slow variation, grave e maestoso. Von Bülow comments, "To imbue this wonderful number with what I should like to call the 'high priestly solemnity' in which it was conceived, let the performer's fantasy summon up before his eyes the sublime arches of a Gothic cathedral."Von Bulow, Hans, Ludwig van Beethoven: Variations For Piano Book 2, G. Schirmer. Further references to Von Bulow are to this edition, unless otherwise indicated. Kinderman writes of its "breadth and measured dignity", adding "its spacious nobility brings the work to a point of exposure which arouses our expectations for some new and dramatic gesture." The three variations which follow certainly fulfill those expectations. Brendel's title for this variation is Here He Cometh, the Chosen.
The first slow variation, grave e maestoso. Von Bülow comments, "To imbue this wonderful number with what I should like to call the 'high priestly solemnity' in which it was conceived, let the performer's fantasy summon up before his eyes the sublime arches of a Gothic cathedral."Von Bulow, Hans, Ludwig van Beethoven: Variations For Piano Book 2, G. Schirmer. Further references to Von Bulow are to this edition, unless otherwise indicated. Kinderman writes of its "breadth and measured dignity", adding "its spacious nobility brings the work to a point of exposure which arouses our expectations for some new and dramatic gesture." The three variations which follow certainly fulfill those expectations. Brendel's title for this variation is Here He Cometh, the Chosen.