Leonovich - Brilliant Variations on “Three Blind Mice” (For Violin and Cello)

Brilliant Variations on “Three Blind Mice” began while I was deep in the world of nineteenth-century cello fantasies. After more than three years of work on the Servais Urtext Project, I found myself drawn to the bravura, theatricality, and occasional absurdity of the Romantic concert fantasy. The word “Brilliant” in the title is a nod to that tradition, where fantasies and variation sets often promised sparkle, display, and more than a little drama.

The piece was inspired by and dedicated to my friend Charles Morey, violinist in the Cincinnati Symphony. I have known Charles for about twenty years, and he is exactly the kind of fantastic and eccentric musician who would be up for a strange idea like this. I thought of him the entire time I was composing it.

The piece was first planned for a Valentine’s Day concert. I originally considered using “That’s Amore” as the theme, but for various reasons, including copyright, “Three Blind Mice” turned out to be the better choice. That performance never happened, but I later reworked the piece for violin and cello. This version was premiered by Jennifer John, violin, and Yuriy Leonovich, cello, on June 11, 2026 at the Fine Arts Center chamber music camp.

The piece is really a set of double variations, built on “Three Blind Mice” and the suspiciously similar finale theme from Haydn’s Hen Symphony. From there, the tune passes through a series of affectionate stylistic disguises, with echoes of Schubert, Sibelius, Lyadov, Mendelssohn, and Servais along the way. It is intentionally ridiculous, but treated with complete seriousness.

Duration: ca. 5 minutes Difficulty: ASTA Grade 5 Includes: score and separate parts