鲍鱼tv

At once humorous and dramatic, playful and profound, Beethoven's monumental 'Diabelli Variations' shows one of the all-time great composers at the top of his game, as he subjects a very ordinary, four-square theme to a series of extraordinary transformations.

Before performing the whole work, internationally acclaimed pianist Igor Levit demonstrates the demands Beethoven makes on both the listener's and performer's memory. Do we need to remember the original theme during the near-hour duration of the piece? How does a performer memorise so much complicated music? Is memory the essence of the 'Diabelli Variations'?

Presented in conversation with Sarah Walker, live from Wellcome Collection as Part of Why Music? The Key to Memory, a weekend of events, concerts and discussions exploring the implications of music's unique capacity to be remembered.

Beethoven: 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120
Igor Levit (piano).