Tremendous musical curiosity has led Rolf Wallin from jazz to avant-garde rock, by way of early music, and without neglecting an apprenticeship in traditional classical music (composition studies at the Norwegian State Academy of Music), or a stint at the University of California at San Diego.
Wallin’s compositional style might be described as the melting pot for this wide array of techniques and means of expression: music that is highly intuitive and written especially for dance, cinema, or the theatre takes shape as highly elaborate instrumental compositions conceived with the help of a computer. It is a testament to his constant effort to temper rigorous formal construction with a tonic, expressive vivaciousness. His oeuvre includes Chi (1991), for orchestra, Ning (1991), for oboe, violin, viola, and cello, Solve et Coagula (1992) for ensemble, Too Much of a Good Thing (1993) for 6 electric guitars and 3 percussionists, and Four Etudes for Piano (1993).