Surprise Variations [Alf:36-10250205]

This composition opens in an archaic Slavic mood, and in the course of each of the variations the actual theme emerges in more and more recognizable fragments. The 'deceiving' Slavic mood (Volga Boatsmen in the accompaniment of the solo violin) is maintained until the entrance of the straightforward statement of the theme at the end of the composition, revealing the final musical 'surprise.'