The compositions united here provide a good overview of the diversity of the variation genre in Beethoven's early piano works - and present such moderate technical demands that even advanced beginners might try their hand at them.

Beethoven found the models for these variations in popular song collections (WoO 64 on a Swiss song), contemporary opera performances (WoO 70 on "Nel cor più non mi sento" by Giovanni Paisiello), and his own compositions (WoO 77 on a theme from the finale of Piano ...