Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven) which the bass theme is heard as the first variation before the main theme ultimately appears. This again parallels the structure of the Opus 35 variations themselves. Finally, the loud E chord that begins the Opus 35 variations themselves is moved here to the beginning of the first movement, in the form of the two chords that introduce the first movement. Alternatively, the first movement's resemblance to the overture to the comic opera "Bastien und Bastienne" (1768), composed by twelve-year-old W. A. Mozart, has been noted. It was unlikely that Beethoven knew of that unpublished composition. A possible explanation is
David Wickham Guildhall School of Music and Drama and studied with Norman Beedie, Paul Roberts and later with Graham Johnson and Paul Hamburger. He is currently a lecturer at Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He was a member of the music staff of the Australian Opera Studio from 2003 to 2006, where he was music director for productions of "Giulio Cesare", "Don Quichotte", "Carmen", "Così fan tutte", "Rodelinda", "Manon", "Bastien und Bastienne" and "Trouble in Tahiti", as well as "Elijah" and four cabarets. At the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts he has conducted "Candide", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", Malcolm Williamson's