Variations on a Theme by Haydn

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Variations on a Theme by Haydn. Orch. comp., 1873, by Brahms, Op.56a, or in version for 2 pf., Op.56b. Often called the ‘St Anthony’ Variations, because the theme is called the ‘St Anthony Chorale’. Brahms took the theme from a suite in B♭ for military band (Feld-partita) by Haydn but research has shown that the theme was borrowed by Haydn. However, since Brahms named the work ‘Variations on a Theme by Haydn’ there seems no good reason to discard this title for a musicological nicety.

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