Editing Diabelli Variations (section)

=== By Alfred Brendel ===
[[Alfred Brendel]], in his essay "Must Classical Music be Entirely Serious?" takes an approach similar to Kinderman's, making the case for the work as "a humorous work in the widest possible sense" and pointing out that early commentators took a similar view:

{{quote|Beethoven's first biographer, Anton Schindler, says—and for once I am inclined to believe him—that the composition of this work 'amused Beethoven to a rare degree', that it was written 'in a rosy mood', and that it was 'bubbling with unusual humour', disproving the belief that Beethoven spent his late years in complete gloom. According to [[Wilhelm von Lenz]], one of the most perceptive early commentators on Beethoven's music, Beethoven here shines as the 'most thoroughly initiated high priest of humour'; he calls the variations 'a satire on their theme'.<ref>{{Harvnb|Brendel|1990|p=37}}</ref>}}