List of variations on a theme by another composer


Many classical and later composers have written compositions in the form of variations on a theme by another composer.[]
This is an incomplete list of such works, sorted by the name of the original composer. The list does not include variations written on composers' own or original themes, or on folk, traditional or anonymous melodies.
Many of these works are called simply "Variations on a Theme of/by...". Other works, which often involve substantial development or transformation of the base material, may have more fanciful titles such as Caprice, Fantasy, Paraphrase, Reminiscences, Rhapsody, etc. These other types of treatments are not listed here unless there is evidence that they include variations on a theme.

[Adam de la Halle]

[Adolphe Adam]

[Dionisio Aguado y García]

[Antoine Albanèse]

[Charles-Valentin Alkan]

  • Peter Lamb : for two double basses and piano. Based on the theme of Alkan's Le festin d'Ésope.
  • Nikolaos-Laonikos Psimikakis-Chalkokondylis: 11 Transformations on Alkan, 2 violins, viola & cello. The composer's note states: "The material of each of the transformations consists entirely of the notes and rests found in the first six measures of a string quartet by Alkan."
  • Ronald Stevenson: Le Festin d'Alkan RSS 337. The third movement consists of multiple variations on themes by Alkan. The composer's note states "This work encapsulates my idea that composition, transcription and variation are all essentially the same thing".

[Alexander Alyabyev]

[Louis Angely]

[Thomas Arne]

[Daniel Auber]

  • Carl Czerny:
  • *Brilliant variations on the Tyrolean theme from La fiancée, Op. 228
  • *Variations brillantes sur le duo favori "Dépéchons, travaillons" de l'opéra Le Maçon
  • *Grandes variations di bravura on Fra Diavolo, Op. 232
  • César Franck: Variations brillantes sur la ronde favorite de Gustave III
  • Henri Herz:
  • * Variations concertantes sur la tyrolienne favorite de La fiancée, Op. 56
  • * Variations concertantes sur la barcarolle favorite de Fra Diavolo, Op. 59
  • * Variations concertantes sur la marche favorite du Philtre, Op. 70
  • * Variations et rondo sur Le lac des fées, Op. 114
  • * Fantaisie et variations brillantes sur des motifs de ''La sirene''

[Marx Augustin]

[Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach]

[Johann Sebastian Bach]

[Béla Bartók]

  • Andreas Benend: Variationen über ein Thema von Bartók
  • Reena Esmail: Il giuoco del "giuoco delle coppie": Variations on a Theme of Béla Bartók
  • Ivo Petrić: Variations on a Theme of Bartók

[Antoine-Laurent Baudron]

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: 12 Variations in E-flat major on the Romance "Je suis Lindor" from Le barbier de Seville, K. 354

[Arnold Bax]

[Ludwig van Beethoven]

  • Edwin Carr: 6 Variations on a Theme by Beethoven
  • Carl Czerny: Variations on the Beloved "Sehnsucht Waltz" by Beethoven
  • Stephen Heller:
  • * 33 Variations on a Theme of Beethoven, Op. 130
  • * 21 Variations on a Theme of Beethoven, Op. 133
  • Franz Hummel: 33 Veränderungen über einen Walzer von Anton Diabelli
  • Ilja Hurník: Variations on a Theme of Beethoven
  • Friedrich Kuhlau:
  • * 9 Variations on "Heart, My Heart, What Is Giving?", Op. 72a
  • * Variations on "The Quails Beating", Op. 75
  • * Variations on "The Luck of Life", Op. 76
  • * Variations on "Longing", Op. 77
  • Max Reger: Variations and Fugue on a theme of Beethoven
  • Rudolf, Archduke of Austria: Forty Variations on a Theme by Beethoven
  • Camille Saint-Saëns: Variations on a Theme of Beethoven, Op. 35
  • Franz Schmidt: Concertante Variations on a Theme of Beethoven
  • Georg Schumann: Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Beethoven, Op. 32
  • Robert Schumann:
  • * Studies in the Form of Free Variations on a Theme by Beethoven, WoO. 31
  • * Variations on a Theme by Beethoven
  • Peter Sculthorpe:
  • * Beethoven Variations
  • Robert Simpson: Variations and Finale on a Theme by Beethoven
  • Rafał Stradomski: Beethoven Variations
  • Hans Zender: 33 Veränderungen über 33 Veränderungen

[Jack Behrens]

  • Godfrey Ridout: Ontario Variations: 4 Variations on a Theme by Jack Behrens

[Vincenzo Bellini]

[Alban Berg]

[Luciano Berio]

[Charles Auguste de Bériot]

  • José Ferrer: Fantasía con variaciones sobre un tema de Bériot, Op. 3

[Hector Berlioz]

[Leonard Bernstein]

[Henri-Montan Berton]

Francesco Bianchi">Francesco Bianchi (composer)">Francesco Bianchi

Sir Henry Bishop">Henry Bishop (composer)">Henry Bishop

[Georges Bizet]

[François-Adrien Boieldieu] and [Sophie Gail]

  • Henri Herz: Variations brillantes sur l'air favori "Ma Fanchette est charmante", Op. 10

[Johannes Brahms]

[Frank Bridge]

[Benjamin Britten]

[Anton Bruckner]

  • Lowell Liebermann Variations on a Theme of Anton Bruckner, Op. 19
  • Marian Lejava Ciaccona for solo violin with a Theme of Anton Bruckner, Op. 14

Friedrich Burgmüller">Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller">Friedrich Burgmüller

  • Henri Herz: Variations caractéristiques sur un thème arabe, Op. 137

[William Byrd]

  • Sérgio Azevedo: The Leaves Be Greene: Simple Variations on a Ground of William Byrd
  • Ruth Gipps: Variations on Byrd's "Non nobis", for small orchestra, Op. 7

[Antonio de Cabezón]

[André Campra]

[Michele Carafa]

  • Amédée Méreaux: Adagio, variations et polonaise sur un thème favori de Carafa, Op. 21

[Luigi Carlini]

  • Mikhail Glinka: Variations on Two Themes from the ballet Chao-Kang in D major

[Thomas of Celano]

Thomas is disputed as the author of the words

[Luigi Cherubini]

[Frédéric Chopin]

[Muzio Clementi]

Henri Cliquet-Pleyel">:fr:Henri Cliquet-Pleyel">Henri Cliquet-Pleyel

[Giuseppe Concone]

[Arcangelo Corelli]

[François Couperin]

[Nicolas Dalayrac]

[Franz Danzi]

  • Louis Spohr: Fantasy and Variations on a Theme by Danzi, Op. 81

[Claude Debussy]

[Edison Denisov]

  • Yuri Kasparov: Beyond the Time: Variations on a Theme of Denisov

[Nicolas Dezède]

[Anton Diabelli]

[Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf]

  • Ludwig van Beethoven: 13 Variations on the aria "Es war einmal ein alter Mann" from Das rote Käppchen, WoO 66
  • Anton Reicha: Variations on a Theme of Dittersdorf

[Gaetano Donizetti]

[The Doors]

[John Dowland]

[Ernst Christoph Dressler]

[Guillaume Du Fay]

[Jean-Pierre Duport]

[Antonín Dvořák]

  • Oskar Nedbal: Variations on a Theme by Antonín Dvořák, Op. 1

[Werner Egk]

  • Jan Koetsier: Introduction and Variations on a Theme from Die Zaubergeige, Op. 82, No. 3

[Manuel de Falla]

[Giles Farnaby]

  • Bernard Stevens: Introduction, Variations and Fugue on a theme of Giles Farnaby, Op. 47, for orchestra

[Johann Christian Fischer]

[Stephen Foster]

King Frederick II "The Great" of Prussia">Frederick the Great">Frederick II "The Great" of Prussia

[Girolamo Frescobaldi]

  • Karl Höller: Symphonic Variations on a Theme of Girolamo Frescobaldi, Op. 20
  • Theophil Laitenberger: Variations on a Theme after Frescobaldi
  • Ennio Morricone: Variations on a Theme by Frescobaldi

Baron von Fricken

[Johann Jakob Froberger]

  • Walter Niemann: Variations on a Saraband by Johann Jacob Froberger, Op. 168 ; the source is the Sarabande from Partita in A minor, FbWV 601

[Sophie Gail]

  • ''see #François-Adrien Boieldieu''

[Wenzel Robert von Gallenberg]

[Noel Gay]

[George Gershwin]

[Reinhold Glière]

[Mikhail Glinka]

[Christoph Willibald Gluck]

Sir Eugene Goossens">Eugene Goossens (composer)">Eugene Goossens

[Louis Moreau Gottschalk]

[Christian Ernst Graf]

[Alexander Gretchaninov]

  • Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji: Variazioni sopra il Credo in qualsiasi modo del Gretchaninoff
  • Alan Theisen: Variations on a Theme of Gretchaninov

[André Grétry]

[Edvard Grieg]

[Jakob Haibel]

  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Twelve variations on the "Menuet à la Vigano" from the ballet Le nozze disturbate, WoO 68

[Fromental Halévy]

  • Stephen Heller: La dame de pique. Romance variée sur l'opéra de Halévy, Op. 75, No. 2
  • Johann Peter Pixis: Fantaisie avec variations sur un duo de L'eclair de Halevy, Op. 133

[George Frideric Handel]

[Howard Hanson]

  • Samuel Jones: A Symphonic Requiem: Variations on a Theme of Howard Hanson

[Karl Amadeus Hartmann]

[Joseph Haydn]

[Ferdinand Hérold]

[Edward Burlingame Hill]

[Johann Adam Hiller]

[Friedrich Heinrich Himmel]

  • Carl Czerny: Caprice and Variations on "An Alexis" by Himmel, Op. 62

[Paul Hindemith]

[Johann Nepomuk Hummel]

[Anselm Hüttenbrenner]

[Nicolas Isouard]

[Clément Janequin]

  • Jehan Alain: Variations sur un thème de Clément Janequin

[Joseph Joachim]

[Zoltán Kodály]

[Jean-Baptiste Krumpholz]

  • Carl Czerny: Variations concertantes on a Theme by Krumpholz, Op. 1

[Johann Kuhnau]

[Josef Labor]

  • Franz Schmidt: The finale of Schmidt's A major Clarinet Quintet is a set of Variations on a Theme by Labor

[Constant Lambert]

[Orlando di Lasso]

  • George Draga: Variations on a Theme of Orlando de Lasso
  • Bernhard Krol: Lassus Variations, Op. 33

[Charles-Gaston Levadé]

[Franz Liszt]

Arthur de Lulli">Euphemia Allen">Arthur de Lulli

[Jean-Baptiste Lully]

[Martin Luther]

[Stanyslav Lyudkevych]

[Cyrus McCormick]

  • Gunnar Johansen: Variations, Disguises, and Fugue, on a Merry Theme of Cyrus McCormick

Sir George Macfarren">George Alexander Macfarren">George Macfarren

Sir Alexander Mackenzie">Alexander Mackenzie (composer)">Alexander Mackenzie

[Guillaume de Machaut]

[Gustav Mahler]

[Heinrich Marschner]

[Nikolai Medtner]

  • Bart Berman: Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Nikolai Medtner

[Étienne Méhul]

[Felix Mendelssohn]

  • Franz Liszt: Grosses Konzertstück über Mendelssohns Lieder ohne Worte , S. 257
  • Václav Trojan: Humorous Variations on the theme of the "Spring Song", Op. 62/6

[Giacomo Meyerbeer]

[Thelonious Monk]

[Claudio Monteverdi]

[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]

[Modest Mussorgsky]

  • Frederick Jacobi: Variations on a Theme by Mussorgsky
  • Josef Tal: Cum Mortuis In Lingua Mortua: 7 Variations on a Theme by Mussorgsky

[Alonso Mudarra]

[Wenzel Müller]

[Neidhart von Reuental]

[Carl Nielsen]

[Jacques Offenbach]

  • Hans Haug: Variations on a Theme of Jacques Offenbach

George Onslow">George Onslow (composer)">George Onslow

  • Louise Farrenc: Variations brillantes sur un thème du Colporteur de G. Onslow, Op. 10
  • Friedrich Kuhlau:
  • * 8 Variations on "For The Girls", Op. 94
  • * 8 Variations on "The Book Peddler, Or The Lumberjack's Son", Op. 99

[Seán Ó Riada]

Sergio Ortega">Sergio Ortega (composer)">Sergio Ortega

[Johann Pachelbel]

[Ferdinando Paer]

  • Henri Herz: Variations et finale sur un air de ballet de F. Paer, Op. 29

[Niccolò Paganini]

See also Variations on a Theme of Paganini (disambiguation)

[Giovanni Paisiello]

[Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina]

  • George Draga: Variations on a Theme of Palestrina
  • Richard Kearns:
  • * Mirate Variations
  • * Donna Gentil Variations

[Bernardo Pasquini]

[Giovanni Battista Pergolesi]

  • Igor Stravinsky: Suite on themes, fragments and pieces by Giambattista Pergolesi, for violin and piano

[Giuseppe Persiani]

  • Carl Czerny: Fantasy and Variations on Inês de Castro, Op. 377

[Astor Piazzolla]

  • Leo Brouwer: Variations on a Piazzolla Tango
  • Carlos Stella: Hockney's Choclo: 10 variations, imitations and paraphrases on Piazzolla's arrangement of the tango 'El choclo' after a picture by David Hockney

[Ildebrando Pizzetti]

  • Ronald Stevenson:
  • * Variations on a Theme of Pizzetti
  • * Variations on a Theme of Pizzetti
  • *

[Ignaz Pleyel]

*

[Manuel Ponce]

  • Carlos Posada: Variations on Manuel Ponce's "Estrellita"

John Powell">John Powell (musician)">John Powell

[Henry Purcell]

[Sergei Rachmaninoff]

[Jean-Philippe Rameau]

[Carl Reinecke]

  • Reynaldo Hahn: Variations puériles sur une mélodie de Reinecke

[Django Reinhardt]

  • Leo Brouwer: Variations on a Theme of Django Reinhardt

[Vincenzo Righini]

[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]

  • Jehan Alain:
  • * Variations sur un thème donné de Rimsky-Korsakov
  • * Variations sur un chant donné de Rimsky-Korsakov
  • * Variations sur un thème donné de Rimsky-Korsakov
  • Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji: ''"Il gallo d'oro" da Rimsky-Korsakov: variazioni frivole con una fuga anarchica, eretica e perversa''

[Pierre Rode]

  • Carl Czerny: La Ricordanza: Variazioni sopra un tema di Rode, Op. 33

[Gioachino Rossini]

  • Ferdinando Carulli: Fantaisie avec variations sur des airs de La gazza ladra, Op. 197
  • Frédéric Chopin
  • * Variations on "Non più mesta" from La Cenerentola, B. 9, KK. Anh. Ia/5, A 1/5
  • Napoléon Coste
  • * Introduction et variations sur un motif de Rossini
  • Carl Czerny:
  • * Introduction et Variations sur la marche favorite della Donna del Lago, Op. 20
  • * Brilliant Variations on the favorite Tyrolienne in Guillaume Tell, Op. 220
  • * Fantasie and Variations brillantes on the March from Moises, Op. 504
  • Louise Farrenc: Variations brillantes sur un thème de La Cenerentola, Op. 5
  • Joseph Gelinek: Variations pour le Forte-Piano sur la Cavatine "Di tanti palpiti" de l' Opera Tancredi.. Published by Schotts, Mainz, c. 1817.
  • Henri Herz:
  • * Variations brillantes sur la cavatine favorite de Donna del Lago, Op. 17
  • * Variations brillantes sur la marche favorite de Moïse, Op. 42
  • * Grandes variations sur le "Choeur des Grecs" du Siège de Corinthe, Op. 36
  • * Grandes variations sur une marche favorite de Guillaume Tell, Op. 50
  • * Variations de concert sur une marche favorite de Guillaume Tell, Op. 57
  • * Variations on "Non più mesta" from La Cenerentola, Op. 60
  • * Variations on the March from Otello, Op. 67
  • * Variations brillantes and Finale à la hongroise from Matilde di Shabran, Op. 77
  • Friedrich Kalkbrenner
  • * Fantaisie et variations brillantes sur l'air "Di tanti palpiti", Op. 83
  • * Variations sur un air de Le comte Ory, Op. 92
  • Friedrich Kuhlau:
  • * 4 Variations on "Give Calm, O Heaven" from Otello, Op. 58
  • * Variations on William Tell, Op. 116
  • Franz Liszt:
  • * 7 Variations brillantes sur un thème de G. Rossini, S.149
  • Bohuslav Martinů: Variations on a Theme of Rossini, H. 290
  • Niccolò Paganini:
  • * Introduction and Variations on a Theme from La Cenerentola
  • * Introduction and Variations on a Theme from Moses
  • * Introduction and Variations on a Theme from ''Tancredi''

[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]

[Camille Saint-Saëns]

[Antonio Salieri]

[Giovanni Battista Sammartini]

[Gaspar Sanz]

[Giuseppe Sarti]

[Erik Satie]

[Benedikt Schack]

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: 8 Variations in F major on the song "Ein Weib ist das herrlichste Ding" from the Singspiel Der dumme Gartner, K. 613

[Arnold Schoenberg]

  • Giles Brindley: Variations on a Theme by Schoenberg
  • David Lewin: Classical Variations on a Theme by Schönberg, for cello and piano
  • Luigi Nono: Variazioni canoniche sur la serie de l'opus 41 de Schönberg for orchestra
  • Viktor Ullmann: Variationen und Doppelfuge über ein Klavierstück von Arnold Schönberg, Op. 3a ; as Variationen, Phantasie und Doppelfuge über ein kleines Klavierstück von A. Schönberg, Op. 3b ; Op. 3c

[Franz Schubert]

[William Schuman]

  • Robert Starer: ''The Fringes of a Ball: Waltz Variations on a Theme by William Schuman''

[Clara Schumann] (née Wieck)

[Robert Schumann]

[Alexander Scriabin]

[John Stafford Smith]

[Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji]

  • Mervyn Vicars: Introduction, Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Sorabji for Pianoforte and Orchestra

[Beatrice Sosnik]

[John Philip Sousa]

  • Carlos Stella: The Indian Post: a piece for wind orchestra based on a march by Sousa after a south Indian form

[Louis Spohr]

[Daniel Steibelt]

[Johann Strauss II]

[Igor Stravinsky]

[Franz Xaver Süssmayr]

[Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck]

[Thomas Tallis]

[Francisco Tárrega]

[Giuseppe Tartini]

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]

[Georg Philipp Telemann]

[Yann Tiersen]

  • Ben Emberley: Variations on "Comptine d'un autre été", Op. 44

[Ralph Vaughan Williams]

[Giuseppe Verdi]

  • Hans von Bülow: Arabesques en forme de variations sur un thème favori de l'opéra Rigoletto, Op. 2
  • Adolfo Fumagalli:
  • * Quatres airs de ballet variés from Verdi's opera Jérusalem, Op. 23
  • ** No. 1 Pas de quatre
  • ** No. 2 Pas de deux
  • ** No. 3 Pas seul
  • ** No. 4 Pas d'ensemble
  • * Introduction et grande adagio variées sur la terzette "Qual volutta trascorrere", Op. 75
  • * Introduction et adagio varié on the romanza "Sempre all'alba ed alla sera" from Giovanna d'Arco, Op. 89
  • * Melodia variata on La traviata, Op. 98
  • Jim Hiscott: Variations on a Theme of Giuseppe Verdi
  • Stanislaus Verroust: Fantaisie et Variations sur Il corsaro, Op. 54

Georg Joseph 'Abbé' Vogler">Georg Joseph Vogler">Georg Joseph 'Abbé' Vogler

  • Carl Maria von Weber:
  • * 8 Variations on a Theme from Castor and Pollux, Op. 5, J. 40
  • * 6 Variations in C on a Theme from Samori, Op. 6, J. 43

[Richard Wagner]

Count Ferdinand von Waldstein">Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein">Count Ferdinand von Waldstein

Sir [William Walton]

[Carl Maria von Weber]

[Joseph Weigl]

[Peter Winter]

[Hugo Wolf]

[Paul Wranitzky]

  • Ludwig van Beethoven: 12 Variations on the "Russian Dance" from the ballet Das Waldmädchen, WoO 71

[Frank Zappa]