Twelve Variations on a Minuet by Fischer

A minuet with many possible faces

The three-beat theme keeps its dance outline through a mixture of long notes, ornaments and flowing replies. Across twelve variations, that outline becomes something to recognise beneath changing keyboard textures. Kurt von Fischer’s foreword connects the work with Mozart’s teaching: Mozart selected six easier variations for use in Mannheim. The complete cycle offered here lets you explore a wider range of responses to the theme.

Learn the dance before the transformations

Begin with the theme’s bass and mark where each phrase comes to rest. Add the melody without turning every bar into a heavy first-beat accent. When studying a variation, find the corresponding phrase in the theme and compare its breathing points. Work on one transformation at a time, while keeping its place in the larger cycle in mind.

Music in this edition

1. Twelve Variations on a Minuet by Fischer