Variations on a Theme of Corelli, op. 42
Variations on a Theme of Corelli (Russian: Вариации на тему А. Корелли, Variatsii na temu A. Korelli), Op. 42, is a set of variations for solo piano, written in 1931 by the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. He composed the variations at his holiday home in Switzerland.
The theme is La Folia, which was not in fact composed by Arcangelo Corelli, but was used by him in 1700 as the basis for 23 variations in his Sonata for violin and continuo (violone or harpsichord) in D minor, Op. 5, No. 12. La Folia was popular as a basis for variations in Baroque music. Franz Liszt used the same theme in his Rhapsodie espagnole S. 254 (1863).
Rachmaninoff dedicated the work to his friend the violinist Fritz Kreisler. He wrote to another friend, the composer Nikolai Medtner, on 21 December 1931:
Movements
- Theme. Andante
- Variation I
- Variation II
- Variation III
- Variation IV
- Variation V
- Variation VI
- Variation VII
- Variation VIII
- Variation IX
- Variation X
- Variation XI
- Variation XII
- Variation XIII
- Intermezzo. A tempo rubato
- Variation XIV
- Variation XV
- Variation XVI
- Variation XVII
- Variation XVIII
- Variation XIX
- Variation XX
- Coda. Andante