My high school classmate Bill Robinson is a brilliant composer and violinist who unveiled a new work, “Cubic Deviations from Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Handel for Piano Quintet,” at Duke University on Aug. 8.
The originating theme comes from a Handel harpsichord suite, which itself includes five variations. Brahms’ work is informally called the Handel Variations. “That means this work is variations on variations on variations,” Bill writes, “hence the title ‘Cubic Deviations.’”
You can tell at the end that the musicians had a blast. If you have a chance, Trio Céleste, check it out – Iryna Krechkovsky Loucks, Kevin Kwan Loucks, and Ross Gasworth: