The People United Will Never Be Defeated!

36 variations on the Chilean protest song 'El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido' by Sergio Ortega and Quilapayun, composed in 1975. Written in response to Pinochet's 1973 coup, it is one of the most politically charged and technically demanding works in the solo piano repertoire. The 36 variations are grouped into six sets of six, each set concluding with a variation that restates the theme, building to a cumulative power of extraordinary intensity. Premiered by Ursula Oppens on February 7, 1976, and widely regarded as a landmark of late 20th-century piano music.