Anton Diabelli (5 or 6 September 1781 – 7 April 1858) was an important Austrian music publisher and minor composer.
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Beware the Ides; or, I’d Rather not
“In 1819, as a promotional idea, [Diabelli] decided to try to publish a volume of variations on a "patriotic" waltz he had penned expressly for this purpose, with one variation by every important Austrian composer living at the time, as well as several significant non-Austrians. Fifty-one composers responded with pieces. Beethoven, however, instead of providing just one variation, provided 33.” -- condensed from Wikipedia
Diabelli, to provide
A contribution to the pride
Of Austrians on every side,
Wrote a waltz which he supplied
To all of those most qualified
Among composers nationwide.
These skilled musicians soon complied,
And took the theme to be their guide;
It almost seemed as if they vied
To give him an unending tide
Of variations as they tried
To be the one most bona fide,
Most clever, or most dignified.
But Beethoven, unsatisfied,
By what they wrote, (which he decried
As meretricious, cut and dried,
And lifeless as formaldehyde),
Took the chosen waltz in stride
He gave the little theme a ride.
His fertile brain, when it had pried
The theme for all that it implied,
And plumbed new meaning deep inside,
Found variations multiplied.
Diabelli heard, and cried,
To hear his theme thus sanctified.
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