The Variations for Chamber Ensemble were written between May and September 1988. It was originally conceived as a sort of chamber concertino, where each instrument in the ensemble would be given a cadenza-like passage to play in a manner reminiscent of Big Band jazz where the principal in each instrumental group would improvise and display his prowess at his instrument in turn. The single movement work, however, was too short to be called a concertino and names like "obbligatos" and "soliloquies" for chamber ensemble, all of which reflect the soloistic aspects of the work's conception, were tried and rejected. I eventually settled for the present title because the work can be construed as a set of continuous variations.