Instead of making a great clamour about a new method
of writing v[arations], like our worthy neighbours the Gallo-Franks
would make, such as, for instance, when a certain French composer
presented me with fugues après une nouvelle methode, the
method amounting to this, that the fugue is no longer a fugue
and so on - I have wished to draw the attention of those who are
not connoisseurs to the fact that at any rate these v[arations]
are different from all others. And this I thought I could do most
naturally and unobtrusively by means of a short introductory statement
which I request you to print both for the shorter and for the
longer variations. I leave it to you to decide in what language
or in how many languages it should appear, for it so happens that
we poor Germans must express ourselves in all languages -
Here
in fact is the introductory statement:
'As
these v[ariations] are distinctly different from my earlier ones,
instead of indicating them like my previous ones by means of a
number (such as, for instance, Nos. 1, 2, 3 and so on) I have
included them in the proper numerical series of my greater musical
works, and more so as the themes have been composed by me.'
The
Composer
NB.
Should you consider it necessary to alter or correct anything
you have my full permission to do so.