Written for the one-hundred-and-twenty-fifth anniversary of Mendelssohn's death in 1972, Kochan's Mendelssohn-Variationen for Piano and Orchestra constitutes a musical homage on two different levels. It takes as its theme that of Mendelssohn's Variations Serieuses, which itself pays homage to Bach in its use of the B-A-C-H motive. Kochan acknowledges his 'second generation' homage by using a quotation from an aria in Bach's St. Matthew Passion (a work that Mendelssohn championed) as a 'hidden theme' that is developed alongside, and combined with the main theme throughout the course of the piece.

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: J. Sterling Lambert