Variations on a Theme of Haydn (2017) was written for organist Christoph Hintermüller who asked for a work based on the national anthem of Germany. The anthem’s tune was written in 1797 by Joseph Haydn (1732–1809). (In English-speaking countries, Haydn’s tune is sung as the hymn AUSTRIAN HYMN, usually with John Newton’s text “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken.”)

The music consists of five contrasting variations plus a recapitulation of the opening variation. The first variation is broad and festive; the second variation is pastoral in character; the third has a scherzando character; the fourth is marked “hypnotic and atmospheric”; and the fifth is a “quasi-musette.” The first variation returns as a finale before a brief coda.