Wain's Paganini Variations for solo marimba takes inspiration from Paganini's famous theme from his 24 Caprices for Solo Violin and follows it with nine variations. The work centres on being a unified whole as opposed to a collection of thematically linked, but disparate, character pieces. Each variation builds on the one before, the work becoming more dramatic and technically demanding as it proceeds, while exploring and extending a specific aspect of two-mallet technique.
Gary Wain is a New Zealand-born composer, percussionist, conductor and teacher based in Tasmania, Australia. A major part of his compositional output has been for or inclusive of percussion, and it includes substantial works aimed specifically at enriching the percussion repertoire. Whilst sometimes technically challenging, his music has invariably proved interesting and rewarding to both players and audiences.
