Description
Completed in January 2009, this short tour de force for the ‘clown of the orchestra’ exploits the humorous nature of the instrument, whilst exploring its full range. Structured in a simple ternary form, the outer sections are highly chromatic (loosely centred around the note B flat, but eschewing a sense of key) and there are many changes of time signature, giving it highly rhythmic energy. The brief central section is more reflective and is a free development of a motif hear in bars 30 to 35: a semiquaver ‘theme’ is subjected serially to four variations in a quasi-waltz style, employing this time a consistent 3/4 time signature. The sections are joined with a hesitant quaver figure, which is first heard in bar 19.
