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Diabelli Variations, Op. 120 on CD

Variation means change - a creative impulse that has driven composers for centuries. Among the great variation cycles in music history, one rises like an eight-thousander: Ludwig van Beethoven's 33 Variations on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli, op. 120. On her new recording, pianist Lei Meng places this monumental late work at the centre and invites listeners on an ascent into Beethoven's most imaginative terrain. Lei Meng pairs this towering cycle with a work from Beethoven's early years: the energetic, sharply profiled c-minor Bagatelle WoO 52 from 1795. Here we already encounter the composer who would make the key of C minor his signature - with scherzo-like wit, driving force and a softly glowing trio in C major.