Maarten Smit: Diabelli-Contest 2014

The original Diabelli contest has become especially famous because Beethoven, after initially refusing to take part, contributed not one but 33 variations.
Therefore my contribution is in the form of a Theme with Variations, and it ends with some Beethoven citations. Some of the variations are joyful – because Peace is joyful – and some are more restrained – because Peace is uncertain and under threat. This ambiguity is also reflected in the use of morse code: the piece starts with the morse code theme for Irini (Peace) and ends with the morse code distress signal (“SOS”) in the guise of the start of Beethoven’s fifth symphony (“Schicksalssinfonie”).