“Variations on Variations”: History of the Jazz Transformations of the Allegretto from Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony

Abstract

The history of jazzing the theme of the variations from the Allegretto of Beethoven’s
Seventh Symphony began with a revision of its four-measure fragment in the vein of a light-popular
style and traversed the path towards a deep transformation, which in all likelihood would be quite
congenial to the composer of the original work, as a 50-minute variation cycle. The article discusses
three jazz revisions – the potpourri Beethoven Wrote It... But It Swings! by Dolly Dawn and her
Dawn Patrol, written in 1939, the composition Beethoven Riffs On created by the John Kirby Sextet
in 1941, and the album Beethoven. Allegretto from Symphony no. 7 created by the Jacques Loussier
Trio, 2003. The author reveals the typical methods of the stylistic transformation of the original for
jazz practice, as well as individual features for each musical example.

Keywords: jazzing the classics, Beethoven, Dolly Dawn and Her Dawn Patrol, John Kirby,
Jacques Loussier