Originally composed for violin and piano, this ingratiating little set of variations was orchestrated especially for a recording Rózsa conducted in 1958. The solo violin announces the eight-bar theme, one of the few folk tunes Rózsa ever borrowed; generally, he wrote original melodies in folk style. The piano or orchestra then restates the theme in lush harmonization. There follows a series of sprightly variations, initially not well differentiated in character. The first four are all capricious and fast, fairly demanding for the soloist; the fourth calls for rapidly alternated phrases of bowing and pizzicato. Eventually the variations slow down and take on the passion and expressivity that Rózsa would later lavish on his film scores. The set concludes with an extended, vigorous dance that's briefly interrupted by the violin bringing back the main theme in harmonics. But the accompaniment leaps back into the fray, drawing the soloist through a glittering finale.

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