This is the in pianist 's survey of 's variations for piano. The pieces here are mostly youthful ones, written while was still a touring pianist. composed a lot of variation sets, although he didn't always speak well of them later; when he heard someone playing the , he asked who had written it, and then, learning that it was himself, exclaimed, "Oh, , what an ass you were back then!" Yet, it is an entertainingly varied piece that is not unconnected to 's transcendent late variation style. also includes some rarely heard pieces, such as the , variations on , and , as well as assorted other early works. These often contain examples of 's rough humor, nicely caught by , and, while not profound, are probably worth hearing more often. As on his , includes variations by other composers as intermezzi. This is the sense of the curious "Variation(s)" title; here, the works are more contemporary, and the ones by and seem to come out of left field. The performances, however, are solid, and one hopes that perhaps a third volume, containing the , is still on the way. The album made classical best-seller lists in early 2024. ~ James Manheim