Editing Variations on a Theme by Haydn (section)

{{Short description|1873 musical work by Johannes Brahms}}
{{italic title}}
{{for|the work by Carl Czerny sometimes called "Variations on a Theme by Haydn"|Variations on "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" (Czerny)}}
The '''''Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn''''' ({{langx|de|Variationen über ein Thema von Jos. Haydn}}), now also called the '''''Saint Anthony Variations''''', is a work in the form of a [[theme (music)|theme]] and [[Variation (music)|variations]], composed by [[Johannes Brahms]] in the summer of 1873 at [[Tutzing]] in [[Bavaria]]. It consists of a theme in B{{music|flat}} major based on a "Chorale St Antoni", eight variations, and a finale. The work was published in two versions: for two [[piano]]s, written first but designated Op.&nbsp;56b; and for [[orchestra]], designated Op.&nbsp;56a. The orchestral version is better known and much more often heard than the two-piano version. 

The first performance of the orchestral version was given on 2 November 1873 by the [[Vienna Philharmonic|Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra]] under Brahms's baton.

It is often said to be the first independent set of variations for orchestra in the history of music,<ref>McCorkle, Donald M., p. 5 in the Norton Scores edition of the Variations ({{ISBN|0-393-09206-2}})</ref> although there is at least one earlier piece in the same form, [[Antonio Salieri]]'s ''Twenty-six Variations on [[Folia|'La folia di Spagna']]'' written in 1815.<ref>{{Cite web |title=26 Variations on 'La folia di Spagna' (Salieri, Antonio) - IMSLP |url=https://imslp.org/wiki/26_Variations_on_'La_folia_di_Spagna'_(Salieri,_Antonio) |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=imslp.org}}</ref>