Celebrated trumpeter Chris Gekker commissioned Ewazen's 12-minute Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Brahms as a memorial to his father, a dedicated amateur pianist who loved Brahms, Schumann, and Schubert. Gekker suggested the tender Intermezzo, Op. 117, No. 1 to eulogize his father, upon which Ewazen composed a work with five variations and a fugue, in part inspired by Händel's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Brahms. Ewazen has provided parts for Trumpet in C, as well as Flugelhorn in B Flat. For advanced performers.