Composed obsession: trying to solve the mystery behind one of Beethoven’s lesser-known masterpieces

By Joel Beers

The play is called “33 Variations.” The title stems from the musical composition that serves as its raison d'être and its mystery: “Diabelli Variations,” a set of 33 musical transformations by master composer Ludwig Beethoven of the theme found in a waltz by a composer that most believe fell far short of Beethoven’s talents. Beethoven spent four years working on the variations, and they are among the last works he ever created. They have been called, if you believe the Wikipedia page, everything from “the greatest of all piano works,” and a “microcosm of Beethoven’s art,” to a representation of “advanced studies in Beethoven’s manner of instruction” and his most adventurous work.

And chances are, even if Beethoven is the category and you’re quite comfortable with starting this round by picking the $1,000 clue, you’ve probably never heard of it. 

Don’t feel bad. Lots of people have been floored by discovering the variations exist. Like Kathy Paladino, who directs this show. She describes herself as somewhat aware of Beethoven, but until she read “33 Variations” several years ago, she had never heard of them.

Nor did the person who wrote the play, Moises Kaufman, the main creative force behind the Tectonic Theatre Project, which created the landmark “The Laramie Project.” Kaufman was very familiar with Beethoven but had never heard of the variations before someone recommended them.

Even the one person involved with this show who you would think knows Beethoven inside and out, the classically trained pianist who will be on stage the entire night breathing life into the variations, admits his familiarity with them was “pretty superficial” until he came aboard the project a couple of weeks ago.

“I didn’t know much about it,” said the pianist, Arthur Abadi, who has performed classical music and musical theater but who has never been as integrated into a show like this, something he finds incredibly exciting. “Just some hazy memories sometime around high school or college.”

Obviously, a deep familiarity with the “Diabelli Variations” is not a prerequisite for writing or directing a play about them or performing in one. Nor is knowledge of them, or Beethoven, or even classical music important to appreciate this play, says Costa Mesa Playhouse Artistic Director Michael Serna.

That’s because as much as the variations are heard, debated, discussed, 

analyzed, cursed, and caressed during the play, they’re not really what it’s about, Serna believes.

"The concept of chasing these variations kind of glues the play together, but in reality, it's about a woman's personal journey. So what Kaufman has done is written a very nuanced play about people with music accentuating it in such a cool way."

The play’s main journey is undertaken by Dr. Katherine Brandt, an esteemed academic music researcher (or musicologist) working on a monograph focused on the “Diabelli Variations.” Her research seeks to uncover the compositional technique, historical context, and deeper meaning behind Beethoven's creative choices, but really she just wants the answer to one question: why did Beethoven write so many variations on a waltz so seemingly beneath his musical talents? 

So far, her research has been stymied. But as the play begins, we learn she’s just received clearance to enter consecrated ground for a researcher: the library in Bonn, Germany that houses all of Beethoven’s correspondence, including the voluminous notes he took on all his compositions.

We also learn that she’s just been diagnosed with a terminal disease, and instead of the freedom to bury herself completely in her work, she must contend with her body betraying her as well as how her diagnosis impacts her personal life, most notably in how her daughter wants to help care for her at a time when Katherine would prefer to be alone with Beethoven. 

The play lives in the present day as well as 1819 and 1823, the year Beethoven wrote his first variation and the year he wrote his last. The dual periods aren’t separate windows framing different eras; they interact constantly through thematic parallels and contrast, such as showing how both researcher and composer are driven to find knowledge and to compose despite deteriorating health.

But where the interaction of the two time periods has the most profound impact is the connection between Brandt and Beethoven. Realizing that connection is what director Paladino hopes the audience experiences, although she admits that relationship isn't what initially drew her to the play.

“When I first read it I was fixated by the fact there was a concert pianist on stage,” Paladino said.“ So there was that technical challenge that was intriguing for me as a director.

But I also grew fascinated by how the material was presented."

Paladino says there is a great deal of history and discourse about music in the play, but it is all "delivered so naturally and fluently that it never feels like you are being lectured."

But ultimately, she was struck by the relationship between researcher and researched, and how they end far more similar than different.

“I hope audiences are moved by the story of these two people and how, though separated by more than 200 years, they each learn through facing their challenges and how similar they are at the end of their lives.”

Joel Beers has typed about Orange County theatre longer than he would freely admit. You can visit him at his rarely updated blog, www.fermentedbeers.com.

“33 Variations”

Costa Mesa Playhouse

661 Hamilton Street, Costa Mesa, CA

July 12 - August 4, 2024

(949) 650-5269, www.costamesaplayhouse.org