The blooming of the cherry trees each spring is a great event in Japan. In the evening friends meet under the pink and white cherry blossoms for a picnic. It is a striking sight, especially in big cities. Vendors sell Japanese food, entertainers andclowns perform, and the typically cautious Japanese seem to be more relaxed during the cherry blossom, or “Sakura”. Kees Vlak captured this atmosphere with his “Sakura Variation”; its theme employs a subtle drum rhythm. The first variation is titled“clowns” and opens with three bass drum strikes. The theme appears in 3/4 time and is repeated several times with surprising changes. An impetuous tempo with dissonant elements suggests a clown’s mischievous behaviour. The second variation in a minormode sounds very sad and dramatic. Is this the sadness when thinking of the end of the cherry blossom, as all the petals “snow” down from the trees? The cherry trees will bloom again next year, so the finale celebrates a joyful “Sakura”.