Editing Diabelli Variations (section)

=== By Maynard Solomon ===
[[Maynard Solomon]] in ''The Late Beethoven: Music, Thought, Imagination'' expresses this idea symbolically, as a journey from the everyday world ("Diabelli's theme conveys ideas, not only of the national, the commonplace, the humble, the rustic, the comic, but of the mother tongue, the earthly, the sensuous, and, ultimately, perhaps, of every waltzing couple under the sun"<ref>{{Harvnb|Solomon|2004|p=20}}</ref> to a transcendent reality. For Solomon the structure, if there is any, consists merely of "clusters of variations representing forward and upward motion of every conceivable kind, character and speed". He sees demarcation points at Variations 8, 14 and 20, which he characterizes as three "strategically placed plateaus [which] provide spacious havens for spiritual and physical renewal in the wake of the exertions which have preceded them".<ref>{{Harvnb|Solomon|2004|p=192}}</ref>). Thus, his analysis yields four sections, variations 1–7, 9–13, 15–19 and 21–33.