Publisher Desc.  The Variations are a type that are referred to as "character variations." Each variation has its own personality, covering about 200 years of musical styles. The theme is Bach-like and contains many smaller motifs that can be developed separately. For instance, in the Contrapunctus, only the last two- plus bars of the theme are used.The genesis of the Variations can be traced back to my hand problems around the year 2000 and afterwards. My surgeon, Dr. Amit Gupta, saved my career as a pianist, and it was purely out of gratitude that I decided to compose this, my most significant piano work at that time. In the last variation the theme is transformed into a raga, and I use the sostenuto pedal in the opening to create a sitar-like effect, as a tribute to Dr. Gupta.