COOPERATIVE COMPOSITION

In 1837, a princess in Paris came up with a charity fundraiser with serious star power: sell a brand‑new piano piece written by six of the hottest virtuosos alive—and use the proceeds to help homeless Italian patriots in the city.

The theme was a duet from Bellini’s *I Puritani*. The lineup was ridiculous: Liszt, Thalberg, Pixis, Herz, Czerny, and Chopin. Each wrote a variation on the theme; Liszt supplied the introduction and finale. Because there were six composers, the work was titled *Hexameron*.

It wasn’t even Liszt’s first “collab.” Years earlier, the Viennese publisher Diabelli had commissioned fifty composers to write variations on a waltz theme. A tiny fun fact: the 24th variation was by Franz Liszt—when he was eleven.

Classical music has been doing all‑star compilations for a long time.