It must be obvious from this site that I am a big fan of Die Zauberflöte. And I really like many of Mozart’s other operas (Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Entführung aus dem Serail to name a couple). But along side these, my “desert island” collection would include lots of Beethoven.
Mozart was a major influence on Beethoven. Beethoven traveled to Vienna during the period Mar.-May, 1787 to study with Mozart (but was called back to Bonn when his mother fell ill). He had great respect for Mozart. In 1796 Beethoven wrote in a letter “I have always counted myself amongst the greatest admirers of Mozart, and shall remain so until my last breath”.
Beethoven wrote a number of variations based on themes from Mozart operas. He considered Die Zauberflöte to be Mozart’s best.
In 1796, Beethoven wrote 12 Variations for Piano & Cello in F major on “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen”, Op. 66. Here are variations one and two.
In 1801 Beethoven wrote 7 Variations for Piano & Cello in E flat major on the duet “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen”, WoO 46. Here is the first variation.
notes:
These performances are from a recording of Beethoven Cello and Piano music with Pablo Casals and Rudolf Serkin, Sony CD SM2K 58985.
The quote above is taken from The Beethoven Compendium, ISBN 0-500-27871-1
You can also hear the 7 Variations on “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen” at Magnatune.
Click on track 3. Or just listen to whole album. It is very good!
Beethoven Piano and Cello Works by Tanya Tomkins and Eric Zivian