Talk:Variations on 'God Save the King', Op.9 (Paganini, Niccolò)

Paganini's variations were written in 1829 on the tune of the British national anthem "God Save the King". In 1837 King William IV was succeeded by Queen Victoria, and the title of the anthem was changed to "God Save the Queen". The editions of Paganini's variations issued during the 1850s had their titles altered accordingly, but without the composer's authorisation (he died in 1840).

The anthem reverted to "God Save the King" again after Victoria's death in 1901, and remained so until 1952 when the present Queen Elizabeth II acceeded to the throne. But the tune was only known to Paganini in its masculine gender, so we should retain the title of the original edition. — P.davydov 15:41, 16 March 2009 (EDT)