Var. I (Precedente) 0:08

Tema: L’istesso tempo 0:27

Var. 2: L’istesso tempo 0:46

Var. 3: L’istesso tempo 1:04

Var. 4: Più vivo 1:29

Var. 5: Tempo precedente 1:57

Var. 6: L’istesso tempo 2:24

Var. 7: Meno mosso, a tempo moderato 3:17

Var. 8: Tempo I 4:30

Var. 9: L’istesso tempo 5:02

Var. 10: L’istesso tempo (Dies irae) 5:31

Var. 11: Moderato (with Cadenza) 6:23

Var. 12: Tempo di menuetto (D minor) 7:56

Var. 13: Allegro (D minor) 9:27

Var. 14: L’istesso tempo (F major) 9:58

Var. 15: Più vivo scherzando (Orchestra tacet) (F major) 10:41

Var. 16: Allegretto (B-flat minor) 11:47

Var. 17: [Allegretto] (B-flat minor) 13:30

Var. 18: Andante cantabile (Theme in inversion) (D-flat major) 15:27 Introduction and

Var. 19: A tempo vivace 18:33

Var. 20: Un poco più vivo 19:05

Var. 21: Un poco più vivo 19:39

Var. 22: Marziale. Un poco più vivo. Alla breve (with Cadenza) 20:03

Var. 23: L’istesso tempo (with Cadenza) 21:39

Var. 24: A tempo un poco meno mosso 22:27

0:12 – var 1

0:30 – theme

0:49 – var 2

1:08 – var 3

1:33 – var 4

2:04 – var 5

2:33 – var 6

3:45 – var 7

4:54 – var 8

5:28 – var 9

6:01 – var 10

6:54 – var 11

8:14 – var 12

9:45 – var 13

10:20 – var 14

11:05 – var 15

12:14 – var 16

14:03 – var 17

16:25 – var 18

19:22 – var 19

19:55 – var 20

20:31 – var 21

20:57 – var 22

22:42 – var 23

23:35 – var 24

00:25 – Var.1. Churning sixths and thirds. Already extremely difficult.

00:49 – Var.2. Sixths in the LH, and rapid embellished octaves in the RH. Toybox-like sounds.

01:14 – Var.3. A single line divided between the hands scurries along in the new 6/8 meter with upbeats. Repeated notes divided rapidly between hands.

01:40 – Var.4. Accented trills and very large arpeggios.

02:45 – Var.5. The first quiet one. Hand-crossing, chromaticism, contrasting meter in both hands.

03:33 – Var.6. Syncopation and rapid, quiet octave leaps.

03:56 – Var.7. Fiery and dramatic. Chromatic octaves at the edges of the keyboard and harmonies in the centre of the keyboard swing inwards and outwards. Their movement is reversed in the second statement.

04:21 – Var.8. Leaps and thirds. Mazeppa-like.

04:47 – Var.9. Harmonic movement twice as slow as in earlier variations. Chromatic chords in RH against repeated octaves in tripet rhythm in LH.

06:07 – Var.10. Hand-crossing, syncopation.

07:45 – Var.11. The first of two major-key variations. Both hands in a high treble register playing expressive, steady, “tinkling” harmonies. In this variation, there are four full “repetitions,” as each two-bar unit uses the same exact material. The only variety comes from touch and dynamic change.

09:30 – Var.12. Continues the music box character of Var.11. RH has leaping, meandering arpeggios in the high register in triplet rhythm, the LH (beginning with an upbeat), in opposite motion in “straight” rhythm.

10:56 – Var.13. A “gypsy” variation, with difficult glissandi.

11:29 – Var.14. A stunning finale to Book I, really three variations rolled into one. The RH and LH pass a rapid scale between them, taking breaks to leap to two repeated notes and a punctuating octave. Trills intensify the variation, and then a huge cascade of arpeggios takes over. Repeated notes and vast rapid leaps. A trill emerges, is sustained, fades away, and becomes a drone over which a new variation is established. After a while the drone disappears altogether and broken octaves punctuated by sharp accents take over. Book II

13:11 – Var.1. Octave leaps, thirds.

13:56 – Var.2. Polyrhythm. Winding octaves and arpeggios.

14:31 – Var.3. Ascending thirds punctuated by octaves. Double notes.

15:00 – Var.4. A lilting waltz.

16:05 – Var.5. Dotted octaves, fleet-footed descending triplets.

16:28 – Var.6. Large, arching arpeggios with sharp, crushing embellishments.

16:49 – Var.7. A masterpiece of disguised complexity. A barely discernible but disorientating upbeat in the LH. 4 against 3 against 9 polyrhythm, later turned to 8 against 9. A chromatic line (the top note of an arpeggio) set of against octaves. Hands switch roles in second half.

17:07 – Var.8. Arpeggios in contrary motion. Meant to evoke a violin. (Kissin plays the repeats using the ossia).

17:35 – Var.9. A stark study in legato octaves.

18:35 – Var.10. Huge arpeggio sweeps, with extended harmonic displacement and “delay”.

19:24 – Var.11. Nearly impossible to play. Skittish and scherzo-like. Essentially a scale with hands moving in strict contrary motion, alternating octaves and single notes *outside of the preceding octave*.

19:48 – Var.12. A nocturne, the only variation not in A major/minor. Hemiolas (3/4 against 6/8), syncopation, inner voices.

21:08 – Var.13. Long scalar descents in the gypsy scale, featuring very delicate voicing in both hands.

22:16 – Var.14. Four variations in one. The first is scherzo-like, with the 2/8 meter speeding it up even more. Descending scales over a detached right hand. The second features double-note harmonies in groups of two passed between the hands. The third features smooth arching leaps and descents, in unison an octave apart. In the fourth 2/8 becomes 2/4 and triplet rhythm appears, and after a pregnant pause on a deceptive “dominant” chord, Brahms’ much-beloved polyrhythms close the work.

0:23 Var1

0:38 Var2

1:05 Var3

1:24 Var4

1:39 Var5

1:55 Var6

2:15 Var7

2:38 Var8

2:50 Var9-My personal favorite. LH pizzicato on the piano? Astonishing!

3:04 Var10

3:35 Var11

4:13 Var12/Finale(Bravissimo!!!)

4:31 Coda(OMG@@)

0:55 Theme 主题

1:22 Var.1 Song without Words 无词歌

1:54 Var.2 Elves’ Dance 精灵之舞

2:26 Var.3 Mazurka 玛祖卡

2:55 Var.4 Hide and Seek 捉迷藏

3:20 Var.5 Tempest 暴风雨

4:00 Var.6 Lyrical Chinese Folksong 抒情中国民歌

5:10 Var.7 Badly composed Ragtime 拙劣的雷格泰姆

6:11 Var.8 Awful Boogie Woogie 糟糕的步急舞急

7:08 Var.9 Stolen Pastorale 抄来的田园曲

8:39 Var.10 Fake Flamenco 不太正宗的弗拉门戈

9:52 Var.11 Lovesong in Hong Kong Style 港风失恋站街曲

11:45 Var.12 Fashion Catwalk 时装走秀

13:29 Var.13 Radio Gymnastics 小学生广播体操

14:22 Var.14 Bargaining Song 菜场讨价还价吵嘴曲

15:20 Keening 哭丧

16:25 Coffin Procession 出殡

17:41 Prelude: Giga 前奏曲：吉格

20:00 Fuga a 3 voci 赋格（三声部）

21:58 Var.17 Perpetual Motion 无穷动

22:58 Var.18 Finale/Chorale: The Ascension 终曲/众赞歌：升天