I remember playing that particular piece by Mozart incorporating the
"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" theme.  It's in a set of variations.
Beethoven, Haydn and most other major composers of the era wrote similar
pieces using varying musical themes as a basis for variations demonstra-
ting their composing art and skill.  And very complex they become, indeed,
I recall.

The way I understood it at the time was that Mozart wrote the piece as a
set of variations upon the musical theme today known as  "Twinkle Twinkle
Little Star" but known to him then as a popular (French) melody from the
period (i.e. the late 18th century) .  The current English lyrics of
"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" were later set to this now universally
known melody, it seems.

It is interesting to note just how many simple and enduring musical
themes of this nature go back centuries to a point where it is impossible
to say where, when and who composed them.  I presume they have come down
often through folk music sources.  What we may today regard as classical
music borrowing themes from popular songs seems to be reversed here.
Mozart would have regarded his composition as contemporary at the time
and not classical, and it is the "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" he used
which may well have been "classical" in age in relation to the period in
which he borrowed.

The process works both ways naturally.  Classical works incorporating
popular musical themes abound if one looks hard enough.  The reverse
process is not so popular now as earlier this century with many examples
of popular music where the themes have been taken from classical works.
"Russian Rag" uses Rachmaninoff's C#-minor prelude,  Zez Confrey composed
a short series of his novelty piano solo similarly using Mendelssohn's
"Spring Song", Rubinstein's "Melody in F" and Dvorak's "Humoreske" (this
is the roll "Humourestless" I believe is currently offered by Q.R.S.).

Many syncopated novelty versions of classics were created at the same
time by various others.  I recently came by a fantastic fox-trot roll
entitled "Leonora" syncopating the Russian folk-song theme "Dark Eyes"
for the chorus.  Does anyone know anything about this "Leonora" tune I'd
love to know as I have drawn a blank on this one.  I think the tune was
by "Burnett" but don't have it to hand, the roll is on the Meloto label.

It's interesting to consider that Mozart may have felt he was doing to
the "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in his variations what George Cobb did
to Rachmaninoff's C#-minor prelude in his "Russian Rag"!!  Rachmaninoff
never recorded his reproducing roll performance of this prelude in ragtime
style regrettably.  Shame really, he recorded "The Star Spangled Banner"
on roll but that's as light hearted as the  "six-foot scowl" ever went on
perforated paper at least....

Regards

Adam Ramet
u9504734@bournemouth.ac.uk

 [ It seems that, nowadays, when a jazz performer plays a bit of a
 [ classic, people grin -- they recognize it.  But if a performer of
 [ classics intersperses a bit of a pop tune, the audience is likely
 [ to frown -- because it's not the "traditional" performance they
 [ came to hear.   -- Robbie