Khan Variations is a musical composition for 5 octave marimba written by Alejandro Viñao in 2001.[1] The piece was commissioned by twelve percussion educators, including Michael Burritt, Nancy Zeltsman, Robert van Sice, and Gordon Stout. It is structured as an uninterrupted set of 8 rhythmic variations lasting approximately 10 minutes and is considered one of the most challenging works in the marimba repertoire, both from a technical and musical point of view.[2]
↑Lange, Art (May–June 2010). "Percussive Counterpoint". Fanfare. Vol.33, no.5. pp.128–129. My favorite, however, was Alejandro Viñao's Khan Variations, a twisting series of melismatic variations based on a Qawwali theme [...]
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Performance by Ian Rosenbaum as part of the Marimba Literature Library by Vic Firth