The Variations, Interlude and Finale on a Theme by Rameau (Variations, interlude et finale sur un thème de Rameau) were composed by Paul Dukas

Paul Dukas

Paul Abraham Dukas was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man, of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, and he abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions...

 between 1899 and 1902. The work was first performed in Paris in 1903.

Structure

Menuet [Theme]

Variation I. Tendrement

Variation II. Assez vif, très rythmé

Variation III. Sans hâte, délicatement

Variation IV. Un peu animé, avec légèreté

Variation V. Lent

Variation VI. Modéré

Variation VII. Assez vif

Variation VIII. Très modéré

Variation IX. Animé

Variation X. Sans lenteur, bien marqué

Variation XI. Sombre, assez lent

Interlude

Finale (Variation XII). Modérément animé – Vif

In an analysis of the work in The Musical Quarterly

The Musical Quarterly

The Musical Quarterly is the oldest academic journal on music in America. Originally established in 1915 by Oscar Sonneck, the journal was edited by Sonneck until his death in 1928...

in 1928, the critic Irving Schwerké wrote:

History

In the first decade of the 20th century, following the immense success of his orchestral work L'apprenti sorcier

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Dukas)

For the 2010 film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, see The Sorcerer's Apprentice .The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a symphonic poem by the French composer Paul Dukas, written in 1896-97. Subtitled "Scherzo after a ballad by Goethe," the piece was inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 1797 poem of the...

, Dukas completed two complex and technically demanding large-scale works for solo piano: the Piano Sonata

Piano Sonata (Dukas)

The Piano Sonata in E-flat minor is a musical work composed by Paul Dukas between 1899 and 1900, and published in 1901.The work has four movements:*I Modérément vif *II Calme – un peu lent – très soutenu*III Vivement – avec légèreté...

, dedicated to Saint-Saëns

Camille Saint-Saëns

Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...

, and the Variations, Interlude and Finale on a Theme by Rameau (1902). In Dukas's piano works critics have discerned the influence of Beethoven, or, "Beethoven as he was interpreted to the French mind by César Franck". Lockspeiser describes the Variations as "more developed and assured" than the Sonata: "Dukas infuses the conventional form with a new and powerful spirit."

Both works were premiered by Édouard Risler, a celebrated pianist of the era.