Variation 9

Hushedm rippling arpeggios in triplets run up and down almost two octaves per bar, while deep in the bass staccato notes in pairs punctuate only the second and third beat of each bar. The opening four bars are repeated. The next four bars continue the pattern of arpeggios, but in each bar they reach higher, then fall a half-step. Two bars mark diminuendo and ritardando give a brief sense of rest. The closing section begins by repeating the opening two bars of the variation, continue the pattern for two more bars, then finish with triplets in both hands, treble and bass moving in opposite directions, marked pianissimo and poco a poco rit. The final bar slows, ending on an incomplete cadence in B minor.

Variation 9 is the first of the set that is not in the key of F-sharp minor, and it is the first of a series: Variation 9 is in B minor, Variation 10 is in D major, and Variation 11 is in G major.

Variation 9 is a close imitation of the piece that follows the theme Brahms took from Schumann's Bünte Blätter, Op. 99 (see below), using the same key.

Schumann's Bünte Blätter, Op. 99, No. 4 in B minor