Note 28 — Chapter IV · THE PRINCIPLES OF PURE MUSIC
Reading edition
A still more primitive type of structure, occasionally but not uniformly used in symphonies and sonatas, is the variation form. This consists of a theme, generally in simple binary or ternary form, subjected to many successive modifications or “variations,” generally of a superficial kind. Though low in the scale of musical organisms, it is surprisingly effective in the hands of real masters of musical development such as Beethoven and Brahms.