Melody:  The notes of the theme are found throughout the flute melody.  The bass also plays a variant of the original bass part.

Rhythm:  This variation is a Siciliana.  There is a dotted eighth sixteenth pattern (shown below) that gives a lilting feeling.  As in the fifth variation, Brahms displaces several rhythms to give an obscured sense of the steady beat.

Key:  Bb Major
Meter:  6/8
Texture: Full orchestra