Based on a 2010 Japanese publication which contained over 100 variations on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, for this expanded cycle, Australian composer Julian Yu has brought in pianist Michael Kieran Harvey to undertake this series of variants presented in styles ranging from Baroque counterpoint to the 20th-century – from Webern to the Minimalists. There is little doubt Yu has created a fun and wide-reaching teaching programme based around a tune familiar to all of us.

Mozart’s Variations on the same piece continue to delight listeners of all ages. However Yu’s cycle is much longer and, as such, becomes a problem in terms of concentration for the listener. Here, as in the concert hall, I would suggest a treasury to be dipped into. The work is divided into sections which support this idea – Counterpoint, Harmony, Texture and Figuration, Tonality and Atonality, and both Popular and Folk music. 

Harvey’s performance is fine, aided by clarity and conviction. Yu’s Variations undoubtedly had their genesis in his compositional classes and as such are aimed at musicians holding a middle level of ability with the instrument. For such students, this set provides the accompaniment to his text, though even at this level, I’d imagine there’s a sense of too much of a good thing. The Variations are a pleasure to sample. The second disc features Kabalevsky’s Pieces for Children arranged by Yu for two pianos, the second played by him. Here again, perhaps, these works are aimed at a specific teaching group.