Diabelli Variations in C Major, Op. 120: Var. 32, Fugue. Allegro

Pianist Leslie Kinton releases Diabelli Variations in C Major, Op. 120: Var. 32, Fugue. Allegro, the first single from his upcoming album Beethoven: Diabelli Variations, arriving September 25, 2026. Centred on a landmark work in the piano repertoire, the album explores Beethoven’s remarkable ability to transform a simple theme into a vast and imaginative musical journey.

In 1819, composer and publisher Anton Diabelli sent a short waltz theme to leading composers of the day, inviting each to contribute a variation for a planned published volume. Beethoven initially dismissed the theme as a “cobbler’s patch,” but eventually responded not with a single variation but with an entire set of thirty-three. The result is a kaleidoscopic work, at once witty, virtuosic, profound, and deeply inventive, often regarded as one of the greatest sets of piano variations ever written.