# programme notes #

# reviews #

Variazioni comes at the beginning of a period that represents Crumb's decisive turn toward his mature style. It still carries over the strong influence of Bartók from the composer's youth, in addition to "a touch of Schoenberg and Berg, and a pinch of Dallapiccola."

The works is scored for large orchestra with harp, mandolin, and a considerably enlarged percussion section. The composer has exploited the possibilities of using smaller orchestras within the larger framework in order to achieve maximum contrast in color and texture. The full weight of the orchestra is felt in only three of the eight movements which constitute Variazioni.

In formal structure, as Crumb explains, Variazioni does not strictly follow the conventional pattern of theme, variations, and coda. It adds another dimension in the form of "fantasy-pieces", which serve as digressions. All the variations are derived from the original theme but the "Fantasia" sections are independent of any formal association with it. The eight parts are performed without pause.

After a short introduction of five bars, the theme (based on a twelve-tone series) is presented in a very delicate scoring. Variation 1, a pezzo antifonale (antiphonal piece), is scored for strings alone. Variation 2 is a toccata of great intensity, which is followed by the first Fantasia, entitled notturno (nocturne). The next section, Variation 3, is a scherzo. Then comes the Trio estatico, Variation 4, which is the centerpiece of the entire structure and quotes the original theme in full. Variation 5, Da capo: Burlesca, is followed by a second Fantasia, a Cadenza, in which percussion is prominent, and which features mandolin and harp in soloistic passages. The seventh section, Variation 6, is an Ostinato. The eighth and final part, Fantasia - Variazione: Elegia e coda: Tema, rounds out the work by combining all the entities - theme, variation and fantasy - and employing all the instruments of the orchestra.