My composition is an homage to Sergei Rachmaninoff whose Variations on the Theme of Corelli inspired me, in part, to write this piece. In 1998-99 the AUB Alumni Association of North America asked me to select and inaugurate a new piano for Assembly Hall, the cultural heart of the campus. My affinity for the melody, which dates back the 1950s when the AUB campus served as my "backyard playground", further influenced my decision to compose a suitable piece for the occasion.

The work opens with the simple theme followed by several eclectic variations of various tempi. Owing to the fact that this melody traveled from the United States to Lebanon, in the eighth variation I inverted it in a ragtime fashion. A boogie-woogie ensues, giving way to an Arabic dance based on the hijaz and saba scales. Next, a cadenza and three melancholy variations hint at a slower section which is then succeeded by the final drive: three lively variations and an epilogue, occasionally developing material heard earlier in the piece and culminating with a celebration of the main theme, reminiscent of the sound of bells.}

                                                                                                                                                                           Waleed Howrani