THE OBSESSION WITH A THEME:

"L CI DAREM LA MANO" BY MOZART

Reader, Ph. D. ECATERINA BANCIU

"Gheorghe Dima" Music Academy Cluj-Napoca

Ecaterina BANCIU, musicologist. Ph. D. in Music Musical Aesthetics

(2006), Reader (Conducting Department, discipline: Score Reading, Musical
Aesthetics). Publications in: Musicology Papers, the journals: Muzica,
Intermezzo and Studia Musica. Books published: Arhetipuri estetice ale relaiei
ethos-affectus n istoria muzicii (Aesthetic Archetypes of the Relationship
between Ethos and Affectus in Music History) (2006) and Itinerarii
muzicologie: Mozart, Puccini, Todu, Ternyi (Musicological Itineraries:
Mozart, Puccini, Todu, Ternyi) (2009).

"The opera of all operas", Don Giovanni K. 527, with the complete title Il dissoluto

punito, ossia il Don Giovanni, is perhaps the most dramatic and fascinating music composed by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Based on Lorenzo Da Ponte's libretto, the premiere of Mozart's opera
was held not in Vienna, his city of residence in 1781, but at the Nosticz Theatre (today: Stavovsk
divadlo) in Prague, on October 28, 1787. Just as "nobody is a prophet in their own land", the
public of Prague received the masterpiece with tremendous enthusiasm. The local press, Prager
Oberamtszeitung, appreciated the genuineness of the event with the following words:
"Connoisseurs and musicians say that Prague has never heard the like", whereas regarding the

complexity of the score, the author of the article added: "the opera [...] is extremely difficult to
perform". The Provincialnachrichten of Vienna wrote about the performance that "Herr Mozart
conducted in person and was welcomed joyously and jubilantly by the numerous gathering".
Despite this obvious triumph (or perhaps because of it), the Viennese premiere was delayed by
half a year, until May 7, 1788, so as to enable Mozart to prepare it thoroughly.
Vienna had long ceased to be loyal to the hero that it had so widely acclaimed in the
summer of 1782, on the premiere of his opera The Abduction from the Seraglio. After the
performance in Vienna, there was a remark in a circle of acquaintances about Don Giovanni to the
effect that: "everyone admitted it was the valuable work of a versatile genius and was of endless
imagination", but the praises were soon followed by criticism. Haydn, although present, remained
silent until he was asked for his opinion, when he reacted in his own particular manner: "I cannot
give a judgment, gentlemen, upon all these objections you have started: all I know is that Mozart

31

is certainly the greatest composer now existing". Already in 1782, Mozart showed his
appreciation for these words of praise, by dedicating the six quartets to Haydn. To another
Viennese critic, Mozart declared that "if you and I were both melted down together, we should not
furnish materials for one Haydn"48. It seems that to Mozart, Haydn represented the moral and
musical ideal.
Leopold Mozart died on May 28, 1787, and five months later, on October 29, took place
the premiere of Don Giovanni. The overture, composed during the night preceding the premiere,
is written in D minor, which makes it Mozart's only opera beginning in a minor key, although
Mozart had noted it as an opera buffa. At the same time, an opera beginning with an attempted
rape and a duel ending with a murder has the impact of a Greek or Shakespearean tragedy. Could
this part have been dedicated to his father, the esteemed and feared Leopold? Possibly, Donna
Anna's grief over the mysterious murder of her father also impressed Wolfgang Amadeus, the
"prodigal son", deprived of his only support in a Vienna that was becoming more and more

hostile. His tremendous success in Prague, and then the more temperate one in Vienna, came as a
consolation and also as an impetus for his following stage masterpieces: Cosi fan tutte, Clemenza
di Tito and The Magic Flute. The Viennese premiere of the opera Don Giovanni also occasioned
Mozart's meeting with the two sopranos who marked his life: Aloysia Weber and Catarina
Cavalieri. Aloysia was the woman he had hopelessly fallen in love with nine years before (1778),
during that fatal tour when he also lost his mother. As to Catarina Cavaglieri, she helped him
reach the peaks of glory at the premiere of the opera The Abduction from the Seraglio, on July16,
1782.
The Spanish hero Don Juan was created by Tirso de Molina49 in 1630, in the pages of the
tragic drama The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest. The chronicles of Seville indicate that
there also existed a real hero, contemporary with the fictional one, by the name of Don Juan
Tenorio y Salazar, count of Maara (1626-1679).
Mozart's meeting with Lorenzo da Ponte
1787. The most famous version comes from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart after Lorenzo da Pontes
libretto50 , at whose premiere it is assumed that Giacomo Casanova himself was present in the
audience. The meeting between Da Ponte and Mozart was recorded in a letter addressed by the
composer to his father, dated Vienna, May 7, 1783: "...The Italian opera buffa has recommenced

48

Stendhal, Vieile lui Haydn, Mozart i Metastasio, Editura Muzical a Uniunii Compozitorilor, Bucureti, 1974.
Tirso de Molina (1584-1648), originally Gabriel Tllez, illegitimate son of a duke, theologian and writer.
50
Lorenzo da Ponte (b. March 10, 1749 d. August 17, 1838) was a Venetian opera librettist and poet. He wrote the
librettos for 28 operas by 11 composers, including Mozart.
49

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here, and is very popular. I have looked through a hundred libretti, and more, but have not been
able to find even one with which I am satisfied... A certain Abbate da Ponte is our poet here. He
has an enormous amount to do in revising pieces for the theatre and he has to write per obbligo an
entirely new libretto for Salieri, which will take him two months. He has promised after that to
write a new libretto for me. But who knows whether he will be able to keep his word - or will
want to? For, as you are aware, these Italian gentlemen are very civil to your face. Enough, we
know them! If he is in league with Salieri, I shall never get anything out of him! But indeed I
should dearly love to show what I can do in an Italian opera!" Mozart's fears were assuaged by the
talented librettist, and their cooperation gave life to masterpieces like: The Marriage of Figaro,
Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte. It is true that before the Don Giovanni premiere in Prague, da
Ponte was ordered back to Vienna to stage Salieri's Axur.
Giacomo Girolamo Casanova de Seingalt (1725-1798) was an Italian adventurer from
Venice, whose notorious gallantries are evoked in his Memoires (The Story of My Life) written
between 1791 and 1798, a brilliant illustration of his adventurous life, experiences and
convictions, as well as a scintillating portrait of an epoch. His father was an actor and play
director, and his mother was an actress. He began his studies with Abb Gozzi, who tutored him
in academic subjects as well as the violin. At the age of 12 he entered the University of Padua and
graduated five years later with a degree in civil and canon law. He studied philosophy, chemistry,
mathematics, and was keenly interested in medicine, which he practiced only for his friends. He
was also an addicted gambler, which often threw him into financial difficulties. Back in Venice,
he polished himself up in the palace of his protector, senator Gasparo Malipiero, started his
clerical law career and became an abbot. He fell into disgrace, entered the military career, joined
the Venetian regiment at Corfu and then eventually gave it up. Gambling and debts continued to
complicate his life. Back to Venice again, he lived like a dandy, left for Paris in 1750, then for
Lyon, where he entered the society of Freemasonry, and launched the rumour that he knew the
secret of the philosopher's stone. He was imprisoned in the Doge's palace for five years, from
where he made a daring escape, although according to some sources he was helped out by a
senator. The reason: the senator was grateful to Casanova who had saved his life by changing his
treatment plan. He claimed to be a Rosicrucian and an alchemist, and visited Voltaire. He
wandered through the great European cities of Cologne, Stuttgart, Marseille, Genoa, Florence,
Rome, Naples, Modena, Turin, then England and Moscow, winning great fame as a conqueror and
leaving behind only debts.
He spent his last years of life in Bohemia, as a librarian to count Karl von Waldstein, at the
Duchcov (Dux) Castle. It is there that he met his compatriot Lorenzo da Ponte, whom, according
to his memoirs, he helped in drawing the portrait of Don Giovanni, his character.

33

Da Ponte's libretto was conceived, as customary in those times, as a drama giocoso, a term
denoting a combination of serious and comic action. Mozart actually entered the work into his
catalogue as an "opera buffa". Although sometimes classified as a comedy, it combines comic,
melodramatic and supernatural elements.
Then the Romantic variants followed: Byron wrote the epic poem Don Juan (1821), being
followed by Pushkin (1930), Musset (1932), Jos de Espronceda (1840), Jos Zorilla (1844) and
Bernard Shaw a four-act drama (1903). The theme was set to music by Gluck, Delibes, Alfano,
Dargomjsky, culminating with R. Strauss' symphonic poem (1887) based on a poem by Nikolaus
Lenau (1844).
The Danish philosopher Sren Kierkegaard wrote a long essay in his book Enten Eller
(Either Or), in which he quotes Charles Gounod as saying that Mozart's Don Giovanni "is a
work without blemish, of uninterrupted perfection". There is a multitude of modern approaches,
such as that of the playwright George Bernard Shaw, who in Man and Superman parodies the end
of the opera, i.e. the scene with the Commander and Don Giovanni and the refusal of the latter to
repent himself.
1787 the year of the meeting between Beethoven and Mozart
Neefe, Beethoven's teacher, persuaded the Prince Elector that the young man should go to
Vienna to take lessons from Mozart, but after a few weeks, the illness and death of his mother
brought him back to Bonn. The lack of documents makes it impossible to give a precise estimate
of the date and time they spent together, but Beethoven is assumed to have studied with Mozart
during the two weeks spent in Vienna. His veneration for the maestro and his regret for his death
can be deeply felt in his works. But Beethoven was far from being the only one who was
fascinated with Mozart's music. Here are the most representative pieces inspired by the Mozartian
themes:
1792-3 Beethoven: "Se vuol ballare" (The Marriage of Figaro) for piano and violin;
1795 Beethoven: "L ci darem la mano" (Don Giovanni) for 2 oboes and English horn;
1795 Beethoven: "Ein Mdchen oder Weibchen" (The Magic Flute) op. 66 for piano
and cello;
1795 Beethoven: "Bei Mnnern welche Liebe" (The Magic Flute) for piano and cello;
1796 Beethoven: Zerlina's aria "Batti, batti" (Don Giovanni) for quintet (oboe, clarinet,
horn, bassoon) with piano and winds, op. 16, Andante;
1819-23 Beethoven: Allegro molto alla "Notte e giorno faticar" (Don Giovanni), 33
variations on a theme by Diabelli, for piano, op. 120;

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1827 Chopin: "L ci darem la mano". Vari, avec acompagnement dOrchestre, op. 2
for piano and orchestra;
1841 Liszt: Rminiscences de Don Juan by Mozart "L ci darem la mano", "Fin cal da
vino" for piano and orchestra;
1887 Tchaikovsky: Mozartiana, the subtitle of the Suite No.4 for Orchestra, in 4
movements, comprises Mozartian themes from different works:
1. Gigue for piano, K574, 2. Minuet for piano, K355, 3. Ave verum corpus, K618,
orchestrated by Liszt, 4. Variations for piano on the theme "Unser dummer Pbel
meint" from Gluck, La rencontre imprvue, K455.
1914 Max Reger: Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart op. 132 (sonata in A
Major K. 331);
1969 Cornel ranu: the opera The Secret of Don Giovanni;
2006 Ede Ternyi: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra "Tribute for Mozart", composed
for Mozart's anniversary year.

1787 Mozart: Don Giovanni, duettino "L ci darem la mano"

Back to the opera Don Giovanni, we propose a selection of three instrumental works
inspired by Mozart's sensuous Duettino and written by Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt at the ages of
25, 17 and 30, ages when the heros fascinating and demonic personality shaped by the tandem of
genius Mozart Da Ponte represented an ideal.
1795 Beethoven: "L ci darem la mano" (Don Giovanni) for 2 oboes and English horn;
1827 Chopin: "L ci darem la mano". Vari, avec acompagnement dOrchestre, op. 2;
1841 Liszt: Rminiscences de Don Juan by Mozart "L ci darem la mano", "Fin cal da
vino".
Romanticism had a predilection toward paraphrasing themes belonging to furerunners of
the likes of Camille Saint-Sans, with the 10 Variations on a Theme by Beethoven Op. 35 for two
pianos (with the theme being taken from the Sonata Op. 31 No. 3) and Johannes Brahms, author
of the 24 Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Hndel Op. 24 for piano, and of the Variations on
a Theme by Haydn (St Anthony Chorale), a work written in two variants, one for two pianos and
the other for orchestra51. These works are seen as a good preparation for the 1st Symphony.
In Don Giovanni, the duet "L ci darem la mano" takes place in act I, upon the hero's
escape from three trials: his failed attempt to seduce Donna Anna, the duel with and killing of her
father, the Commander, and the disastrous meeting with Donna Elvira. After her departure, Don

51

The piece comprises a theme, eight variations and a passacaglia.

35

Giovanni comes across a group of peasants celebrating the wedding of Masetto and Zerlina. Don
Giovanni tries to seduce Zerlina and, with Leporello's help, attempts to remove the wedding
guests and the gealous husband, who was already suspicious of Don Giovanni's plans (Masetto's
aria Ho capito! Signor, si). Alone with Zerlina, Don Giovanni applies his charm:
DON GIOVANNI

DON GIOVANNI

L ci darem la mano,

There well be hand in hand, dear,

l mi dirai di si.

There you will say "I do";

Vedi, non lontano

Look, it is right at hand, dear,

partiam, ben mio, da qui.

Lets go from here, me and you.

ZERLINA

ZERLINA

Vorrei e non vorrei

I want to, but its not pure,

mi trema un poco il cor.

My heart is ill at ease.

Felice, ver, sarei,

I would be happy, Im sure,

ma pu burlarmi ancor.

But it may all be a tease.

DON GIOVANNI

DON GIOVANNI

Vieni, mio bel diletto!

Come, sweetest love, lets hurry!

ZERLINA

ZERLINA

Mi fa piet Masetto!

Masetto gives me worry!

DON GIOVANNI

DON GIOVANNI

io canger tua sorte.

Ill change your life forever.

ZERLINA

ZERLINA

Presto, non son pi forte!

Soon, dear I don't feel clever!

DON GIOVANNI

DON GIOVANNI

Vieni, vieni.

Lets go!

DON GIOVANNI, ZERLINA

DON GIOVANNI, ZERLINA

Andiam, andiam, mio bene,

Lets go, my love, lets go,

a ristorar le pene

To heal the pain and woe

d'un innocente amor!

Of love thats innocent!

36

Mozart Don Giovanni, act I, No. 7 Duettino

Andante
The statement of Don Giovanni's theme in a serene A Major and in a determined and
ascending Andante, fits perfectly in the classical quadrature; Zerlina's hesitating answer, her
vacillation between an "innocent" love and her faithfulness to Masetto, break the initial symmetry
and triggers the hero's pertinacity:

Ex. nr. 1 Mozart:

A: (a+a1) 18 bars, A major, 2/4; a: D.G. 8 bars (4+4); a1: Z. 10 bars (4+6);

37

In the middle part (B), Don Giovanni is stepping up the siege, in the key of the dominant
(E major): the couple's lines follow one another at a brisk pace (in every other bar, twice as fast as
in the first stanza), with Zerlina's motivic enlargements and the young man's more and more
persistent stretto. The thematic and tonal reprise (in A major), with the overlapping of the two
ideas (seduction and vacillation) culminates in a duet of the triumphant love, an impressive 33-bar
coda (C), in a dancing ternary meter, ending in the mocking accompaniment of the orchestra:

Ex. nr. 2 Mozart:

B: E major 2/4;(b+av+bv) 31;

b: D.G. - Z. b E major 11 bars (4+7); a1 A major: 10/11 (4+6/7) stretto CODA 10
extension bars Z. +2 extension bars D.G.) chromatic line (indecision, procrastination); A
major av: D.G. - Z. stretto 10/11 (4+8) bars; b1v: stretto (4+3+3);
C (c+c1+Coda) 33 bars: A major 6/8;
In our days, the charm of the duettino has conquered the audiences worldwide and has
been included in the concert repertoires. There are countless recordings with famous baritones and
sopranos, even tenors like Luciano Pavarotti or Placido Domingo, who have played this part with
predilection.

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1795 Beethoven, Variationen ber das thema "L ci darem la mano" - "Reich mir die
Hand, mein Leben!" aus Mozarts "Don Juan" for 2 oboes and English horn in C major
Beethoven gained his first successes as a virtuoso playing in private salons. There was no
concert season or music-loving audience in Vienna at that time, as there were in England or Paris,
except for a few benefit concerts or subscription concerts for young solo virtuosos. Beethoven had
a strong impact on the Viennese audience as a virtuosic pianist and improviser, as can be seen
from the reconciliation letter addressed to Eleonore von Breuning in Bonn. The letter was meant
to excuse Beethoven's almost one year silence while in Vienna and was accompanied by his first
opus, partly composed in Bonn: the variation for violin and piano on the theme Se vuol ballare
by Mozart; at the end of the letter, he alludes to the difficult trills in the CODA, confessing that:
"I never would have written it in this way, had I not occasionally observed that there was a
certain individual in Vienna who, when I extemporized the previous evening, not infrequently
wrote down next day many of the peculiarities of my music, adopting them as his own.
Concluding, therefore, that some of these things would soon appear, I resolved to anticipate this.
Another reason also was to puzzle some of the pianoforte teachers here, many of whom are my
mortal foes. So I wished to revenge myself on them in this way, knowing that they would
occasionally be asked to play the variations, when these gentlemen would not appear to much
advantage"52
On March 29, 1795, in Burgtheater, Beethoven appeared in a twofold position: as a
composer and a virtuoso, performing his own concerto, probably the one in B-flat Major, later
published as his second concerto, Op.19. 19. According to the confession of Franz Gerhard
Wegeler, his friend from Bonn who, while in Vienna for a longer time (October 1794 the
summer of 1796), witnessed the preparations for this concert (or perhaps for the concert of two
months later, i.e. December, and the concert performed may have been the first one, Op. 15, in C
major), Beethoven completed the finale only in the last moment, claiming abdominal pains.
The next day, at the second benefit concert, Beethoven appeared again on the stage with a
program of improvisations. On March 31, Constanze, Mozart's widow, organized the staging of
the opera La clemenza di Tito; on this occasion, Beethoven performed three times during the
three-day manifestations, playing one of Mozart's concertos. Toward the end of the year (the exact
date is unknown), Beethoven visited Prague and gave two public concerts and an author recital.
The details were provided by the Bohemian composer Vclav Tomek: Adagio and Rondo from
his Sonata for Piano in A major, Op. 2 No. 2, improvisations on "Ah perdona" from Clemenza di

52

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., London, 1992, p. 78.

39

Tito and "Ah vous dirai-je maman" by Mozart, and his first two concertos, in B flat major and C
major. To Tomek, a true connoisseur of all the instrument virtuosos from Mozart until 1840,
Beethoven remained the greatest pianist.
The Variations on the theme "L ci darem la mano" in C major, for two oboes and English
horn, are among the many works that the young composer wrote on his return to Vienna, which
later were published without an opus number. The work demonstrates Beethoven's preoccupation
at that time with the study of counterpoint with Joseph Haydn and Johann Albrechtsberger.
Beethovens reply brings a compression of the Duettino, by balancing the discourse and
removing the ternary Coda from the enunciation of the theme. The ternary Coda will thus appear
only at the end of the last variation (the 8th), in a polyphonic texture and at a staggering Vivace
tempo, ending subtly in Mozarts original tempo, Andante - pianissimo.

Ex. nr. 1 Beethoven:

Theme. Andante A piano; B mf <f; av piano>pp

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A: 8 bars (a +a1) - C major Don Giovanni (4+4);

B: 11 bars (b+ b1) - G major b. DG + Z (2+2); b1 DG (2b) + Z(3b) + DG (2b);
av: 6 bars (2+2+2) C major;
- The theme: is played by the 1st oboe, accompanied by the 2nd oboe and by the
English horn;
- the compression of the last part replaces the CODA in 6/8;
Var. I (Allegretto), the theme in dotted rhythm appears in the 1st oboe part, while the
accompaniment is performed by the 2nd oboe and the English horn;
Var. II (Listesso tempo) the theme returns to the cantabile style in the 2nd oboe part,
followed by the 1st oboe, and the novelty appears in the English horn part, which displays
a figuration in sixteenth-note triplets;
Var. III (Andante) the more free theme, with ornaments and chromatizations, is in the 1st
oboe part;
Var. IV (Allegro moderato) polyphonic, imitative (fugato) treatment of the theme, with
chromatic elements and a culmination (forte) in the end;
Var. V (Moderato) the theme in the 1st oboe part, in a virtuosic melodic variation in 32nd
notes;
Var. VI (Lento espressivo) C minor: lyrical passage, with ornaments and chromatic
elements in the theme performed by the English horn, continued in B by the 1st oboe;
Var. VII (Allegretto scherzando) the major key (C major) returns, an ingenious hoquetus
in the dialogue between the 2nd oboe and the English horn with the 1st oboe entering four
bars later, the voices race in counterpoint being interrupted only by a respiro effect (a
general pause bar) before the end in fortissimo;
Var. VIII (Allegretto giocoso) a brilliant end, with the thematic statement in the English
horn part - in dialogue with the 1st oboe (entering after three bars), against the Alberti
figuration in 32nd notes of the 2nd oboe; the attacca subito da Coda (Vivace) follows in
polyphonic 6/8 (33 bars and an ample 10 bar cadence) and a meditative thematic closing in
Andante 2/4 time (13 bars): the final theme is played by the 2nd oboe, doubled in discant
by the 1st oboe at the third, and after a dialogue with the English horn, everything fades
away in a mysterious pianissimo.

During his rising years, Beethoven created a vigorous piece, i.e. the Variations "La ci darem
la mano", performed today by the best oboe ensembles worldwide.

41

1827 Chopin: "L ci darem la mano". Vari, avec accompagnement dOrchestre, op. 2
Chopin opened the series of concerts for piano and orchestra with the Variations in B flat
Major on the theme of the duet "La ci darem" from Mozarts Don Giovanni, followed, one year
later, by the Fantasy on Polish Airs, Rondo la Krakowiak, Concerto No. 2 (1829), Concerto No.
1 (1930) and Grande Polonaise Brillante in E-Flat Major (1830-35).53
The Variations on a Theme by Mozart were among the first publications of the young
pianist. Robert Schumann mentioned this work in the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung, in a
famous and laudatory essay on young Chopin: "Hats off, gentlemen, a genius! "54
"L ci darem la mano". Vari, avec accompagnement dOrchestre, op. 2, was dedicated to a Mr.
Titus Woyciechowski and comprises an ample Introduction, the theme inspired by Mozart's
duettino and four brilliant variations:
Introduzione. Largo; Thema. Allegretto; Var. I Brillante; Var. II. Veloce (ma
accuratamente); Var. III sempre sostenuto; Var. IV. Con bravura; Var. Adagio sib; Alla Polacca
Chopin chose to end with a variation in Polish style, Alla Polacca, as a homage paid by a
Polish patriot to the great Mozart. The rondo in Beethovens Triple Concerto Op. 56 bears the
same indication, and composers like Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Liszt, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky
and Scriabin composed music to the typical rhythm of this solemn dance, in ternary meter.
The first of Chopin's preserved compositions is a Polonaise for piano, composed when he
was seven years of age and published in the same year (1817). Educate at the High School of
Music in Warsaw under composer Joseph Elsners guidance, Chopin started his artistic career at
the age of 19. The Polish press of that time wrote about his piano and composition skills that "fate
has gifted Poles with Mr Chopin as Germans with Mozart".
Rimsky-Korsakov appreciated his talent as a melodist and as an ingenious and original
harmonist.55
A brief presentation of Chopins Variations "L ci darem la mano" Op. 2 for piano and
orchestra begins with:
- Introduzione. Largo; B flat major piano: the orchestral introduction begins with the
Mozartian head of theme;
- The first eight bars are followed by a solo piano passage (23 bars) in typical Chopin
style, with multiple melodic notes, virtuosic passages and a pianissimo ending;

53

New Grove, op. cit. vol. 5, p. 712.

Histoire de la Musique Occidentale, Sous la direction de Jean & Brigitte Massin, Fayard, 2009, p. 768.
55
New Grove, op. cit. vol. 5, p. 712.
54

42

- Poco pi mosso marks the dialogue with the orchestra, followed by a solo passage ending
in pianissimo suspence and con forza e prestissimo s'attacca il Thema, in festive march
style:
Ex. nr. 1 Chopin:

43

In Chopin, the theme has no extensions

- the tempo is Allegretto, the key is B flat major, the time signature is 2/4
A (a+a1) 16 bars a(4+4) + a1(4+4); B 16 bars b(2+2+2+2) +a1v(4+4)
- each part ends with an orchestral Tutti with the Mozartian head of theme (a memento?),
an 8-bar ritornello (4 +4) with the role of conclusion (flute violin dialogue)
Var. I Brillante marcato: the theme is amplified, counterpointed with triplet figuration;
finally, the 1st ritornello appears (varied, flute clarinet dialogue)
Var. II Veloce (ma accuratamente), theme ornamented with melodic 32nd notes, doubled at
the octave;
- the score indicates an extra bass, in case the piece is performed without orchestral
accompaniment
- in the end the 2nd ritornello (clarinet flute dialogue)
Var. III Sempre sostenuto: dotted theme, march character, bass accompaniment a
perpetuum mobile in 32nd notes;
- 3rd ritornello (bassoon horn dialogue in the low register)
Var. IV. Con bravura sempre staccato e forte, toccata character, followed by an amplified
orchestral 4th ritornello (8+7 bars)
Var. V Adagio espressivo, B flat minor, A in fortissimo, with ample melodic passages
(invoking Don Giovanni), followed by a phrase in pianissimo (Zerlinas retort)
- in section B b starts with a pianissimo possibile, with ample passages of melodic notes
(36th notes), the typical rubato turns into stretto e con forza (in a1v), then, suddenly, the
soloist ends piano delicato calando, smorzando in pianissimo;
- the 5th ritornello grows into a magnificent Alla Polacca B flat major 3/4 (112 bars): the
delicate Mozartian theme gains a heroic dimension and the specificity of the Polish dance;
4 introductory bars
A (a+a1) B extended b (4+3+2) +a1v and an ample CODA:

44

Ex. nr. 2 Chopin - Alla Polacca:

45

46

- the entire work is ingeniously varied: melodically, harmonically, rhythmically, dynamically,

timbrally, defining an established style of a genius.
In February 1832, in Paris, the Variations sur un thme de Don Juan ended Chopin's first
concert at the Pleyel Hall. The success of that evening established his reputation and since then
the Variations have become a favourite concert piece for the great pianists.

1841 Liszt Fantasia Rminiscences de "Don Juan" for piano and orchestra56
Testimonies about Liszts interest in Mozarts music and especially in the fascinating
character of Don Giovanni were recorded during his first concert tour in London (June 1824); at
the invitation of King George IV at the Windsor Castle, the 12 years old pianist played for more
than two hours, impressing the audience with his improvisation on the Don Giovanni minuet57.
Along with his original works studies and character pieces Liszt created arrangements
that were considered paraphrases, transcriptions or reminiscences (Rminiscence), on more or less
famous themes from the creations of contemporary composers. Usually, in a paraphrase, the
composer can modify the original, giving his imagination free rein. Instead, the transcription is a
faithful recreation of the original. Liszt's paraphrases on themes from operas by Mozart, Bellini,
Donizetti and Verdi incorporate up to an entire act in a 15-minute concert piece, by juxtaposing
and combining the themes. These creations stand out among others of the genre and of the time,
through their architectural value and rigor: "The finest of Liszt's opera fantasies ...juxtapose
different parts of the opera in ways that bring out a new significance... " (Charles Rosen)58
The fantasie Rminiscences de Don Juan begins with the Commendatores threat "Di rider
finirai pria dell aurora! Ribaldo audace! Lascia a' morti la pace!" and continues with the duet
between Don GiovanniZerlina for two variations, strictly observing the key, registers and
rhythm.

56

In 1877, Liszt also published a version for two pianos.

New Grove, op. cit. vol. 14, p. 767.
58
Charles Rosen, The Romantic Generation, p. 528 quoted by New Grove, op. cit., p. 767.
57

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Ex. nr. 1 Liszt Duetto

- after virtuosic passages typical of his style, Liszt takes the original ternary Coda and
ends the thematic statement in scherzando and fortissimo: the soloists fiendish technique
suggests the shrewd and seductive game played by Don Giovanni, convinced of his victory;

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Ex. nr. 2 Liszt:

A
new fantasie follows, this time on the champagne aria "Fin ch'han dal vino", after which the work
concludes with the Commendatores threats.
Composed following the 1838 version of the Transcendental Studies, the "Don Juan"
Fantasie requires exceptional preparation and skills to solve the highly difficult technical
problems, the triple chromatic passages, the extremely rapid tempo of execution and the

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nimbleness in both hands required in the passages leaping wildly across the entire keyboard,
which made Heinrich Neuhaus59 say that "with the exception of Ginsburg60, probably nobody but
the pianola played without smudges". Alexander Scriabin himself had problems with his right
hand while over-practicing the "Don Juan" Fantasie and composed the funeral march of his first
sonata, in memory of his injured hand.
Conclusions
The playful, graceful and full of spirit character of the theme led to the most diverse
approaches:
Beethoven
-

opts for the crusic, masculine (Don Giovanni), abbreviated (without repetition) and clear
variant of the theme;

removes the ternary CODA in 6/8 time from the statement of the theme, using instead a
vivace Coda inspired from A, attached (with atacca subito da Coda) to the 8th and final
variation (Allegretto giocoso);

enables, throughout the eight variations, the highlighting of the virtuosity of each
instrument;

stands out through the masterly-written score and proves his solid knowledge in
counterpoint (var. IV);

does not avoid humour, rendered through the hoquetus writing in var. VII (Allegretto
scherzando).
Chopin

delays the presentation of the theme with an ample Introduction (Largo), in 4/4 time,
which states only the head of the theme, in dotted and rhythmically augmented form, as a
solemn Intrada;

uses the idea of A in the theme, but with dotted motif, renounces the extensions (Zerlinas
melodic hesitations) and the ample ternary CODA, but introduces in the end, after the
Adagio espressivo in the the 5th Variation, a grandiose Alla Polacca in typical ternary
meter (3/4), the head of theme being the original anapestic one, not dotted;

59
60

ends each variation with a typical orchestral ritornello, as a thematic memento;

disciple of Leopold Godowsky.

Grigori Romanovici Ginzburg (1904 - 1961), Russian pianist.

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the piano score highlights the soloists bravura and sensitivity.

Liszt
-

uses several themes from the opera, not just the duettino;

begins with the Commendatores theme Grave, 4/4, threatening fortissimo, in the key of
the opera (D minor);

provides a tonal preparation of the theme, with a seductive interlude, a dolce teneramente
Andantino in A major;

states the theme of the duettino in Andantino tempo con grazia (in Mozart the tempo was
Andante);

he is the only one who uses the original key of the original duettino (A major), and Don
Giovannis crusic-dactylic structure and Zerlinas anacrusic-dotted one, and who observes
the register and order of entrances of the soloists.

uses the Mozartian theme in its entirety, with subtle extensions suggesting Zerlinas
indecision and procrastination, and implicitly the binary codetta and the ample, ternary
coda;

inserts long passages of melodic notes for the moments of suspense.

The three pieces presented, i.e. Beethoven Variationen ber das Thema: "La ci darem la

mano" aus Mozarts Don Juan, Chopin "L ci darem la mano". Vari, avec accompagnement
dOrchestre and Liszt Rminiscences de "Don Juan", inspired by Mozarts famous duettino
between Don Giovanni and Zerlina (there have been more throughout history), are, just like
their model, genuine masterpieces that have transcended their time and entered the repertoire
of the worlds greatest soloists.
Selective Bibliography
* * * The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., London, 1992
* * * Histoire de la Musique Occidentale, Sous la direction de Jean & Brigitte Massin, Fayard, 2009
KOBB, Gustave, Tout lOpera, ditions Robert Laffont, S.A., Paris, 1991
LISZT, Franz, Pagini romantice, Editura Muzical, Bucureti, 1985
MOZART, Scrisori, Editura Muzical a U.C., Bucureti, 1968
DA PONTE, Lorenzo, Aventurile unui poet de curte - Memorii, Editura Muzical, Bucureti, 1982
ROSEN, Charles, The Classical Style. Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Faber and Faber Limited, London, 1972
STENDHAL, Vieile lui Haydn, Mozart i Metastasio, Editura Muzical a Uniunii Compozitorilor,
Bucureti, 1974.

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