Seven variations based on a theme composed from only seven notes, and only these seven notes are present in the whole work. They are used in all registers of the piano, from the highest to the lowest, which enhances the expression and colouristically distinguishes individual numbers.

Each of these has a different character: the first symbolises an escape, like a hurried run, the second is jolly, witty, the mood of the third can be described as heavy, the fourth exudes pain, crying, the fifth ...