Beethoven chose the German word Veränderungen rather than the usual Italian-derived Variationen, in a period when he preferred using the German language in expression marks and titles, such as Hammerklavier. Yet, apart from the title, we find only traditional Italian musical terms within the work, suggesting that Beethoven was probably trying to make a point in his use of Veränderungen. Since Veränderungen can mean not only "variations" but also "transformations", it is sometimes suggested that Beethoven was announcing that this work does something more profound than had hitherto been done in variation form.
Beethoven chose the German word Veränderungen rather than the usual Italian-derived Variationen, in a period when he preferred using the German language in expression marks and titles, such as Hammerklavier Yet, apart from the title, we find only traditional Italian musical terms within the work, suggesting that Beethoven was probably trying to make a point in his use of Veränderungen. Since Veränderungen can mean not only "variations" but also "transformations", it is sometimes suggested that Beethoven was announcing that this work does something more profound than had hitherto been done in variation form.