six variations on an english theme

This is a delightfully tongue-in-cheek short set of variations on ‘What shall we do with the drunken sailor’. The style of each of the six variations is derived from piano pieces Reddy played while studying at the Royal College of Music, London: Variation 2, for example, is indebted to Messiaen, Variation 3 to Shostakovitch, Variation 5 to Schubert. Other composers are also woven into the piece. Written in about 1978, the piece demonstrates Reddy’s sense of humour and youthful virtuosity. The score published here is a facsimile of the original manuscript.