Happy New Year and welcome to another new year of listening activities! Here is a fun new years performance by Russian pianist, Denis Matsuev. He begins with a little tune you may have heard before, then weaves it into many famous pieces of music. For any parents listening along, you may catch a small snippet of the iconic Nokia ringtone in a waltz-like style near the beginning. Enjoy!

Questions

Although the main theme sounds different in each variation, you can tell that it is still there. Describe a few ways the theme changes throughout. How does it sound different?
One of the four pieces below was not used in Matsuev's performance. Can you tell which one? You only need to listen to a little bit of the opening of each one to tell.