When Earplay asked me for a piece to commemorate its fortieth season, I initially intended to compose forty tiny variations on a theme — an enticing concept that ultimately failed in practice. After abandoning my original idea, I turned to a more traditional theme and variations form and felt immediately revitalized. I ended up with five sections instead of forty: a theme followed by three increasingly divergent variations, with a slow and meditative coda concluding the piece. Each of the five sections is based on the same two musical ideas: a repeating chord progression heard first in the strings, and an angular melody played by the flute, clarinet, and piano.

Warm thanks go to Earplay for supporting the creation of this piece along with so many others over the last forty years.