“Fractal Variations is a string orchestra version of my work for string quartet, Spring Rain.

Spring Rain was written at the request of six string quartets, who, around 2000, had come up with a plan to organize their own chamber music series in a number of country estates in the Netherlands without the help of a state subsidy.

Despite the programmatic title, the work is composed as an abstract piece. The composer leaves the listener to harmonize the title with the music in whichever way they choose.

The piece has a light-footed character with both smooth and abrupt transitions. Within eight minutes, it follows a path in which an important role is played by the repetition of musical elements on both a large and small scale. The syntax in this music is very similar to that of the Viennese classics, but came about in a completely different way.”

– Theo Verbey