Composers Note:
My Paganini Variations were commissioned by the BBC for their “Band of the Year 1991”, Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and first performed in a recording on 10 May 1991 at the BBC’s Manchester Studios.

The intention was to compose a piece that would use more of Paganini than his time-honoured melody, but would also attempt to recreate, in modem terms, something of the wild and romantic spirit of his times. Thus the piece exists on two complementary levels. I have taken the celebrated melody from his 24th Caprice and provided it with a set of fourteen variations aimed to exploit the fill potential of modem
brass band playing. The full flavour of Paganini’s romantic heritage finds its expression in a mixture of extravagantly virtuosic display, and serene and passionate melody. In short, I have tried to combine two strands within my piece, one historical and one contemporary. As with all arranged marriages the risks seem great, but my hope is that this maybe a marriage of two laudable elements which devalues neither but celebrates both.

Philip Wilby.