This set of variations on a popular Rossini aria is charming, fluent, and not lacking in imagination. It is in a typical variation form for the period, with each of the four variations a decorated version of the original tune. The first makes the aria more florid by adding triplet figurations. The second is in the florid bel canto singing style, with embellishments to the theme. The third has rapid downward arpeggios, and the fourth is a staccato perpetual motion that requires good breath control on the part of the player.

The occasion for Chopin's writing this piece, at the age of 14, is not known, but it was most likely written for the composer's father (an amateur flute player) or one of the other flute players the elder Chopin knew and often played with. It is fortunate that the work survived. It appears that there was only one manuscript copy, and that it was kept by Jozef Nowakowski, one of the composer's friends. The work did not appear in print until 1953.

It is a seven-minute piece and bears few, if any, stylistic traits that identify it as Chopin's. It is not an extraordinary piece; Chopin was not a Mozart, Mendelssohn, or Britten, in his development. Instead, it could be by virtually any young composer with potential of the time who was at the beginning of his creative activities. Thus, it is of interest mainly in light of what the composer would become.



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