Of all the early works, the Variations most comprehensively anticipate future trends in his style. The compression, the unexpected power and intensity, the virtuosic use of the whole orchestra, collectively and individually, at extremes of technique and range, strongly anticipate some of the one-movement symphonies of the 1950s. Effectively, it is as much a symphonic movement as a set of pictorial variations.
Throughout, Brian cleverly manipulates the two principal strains of the "Three Blind Mice" tune in a continuous musical development, but of particular note also is the thematically unrelated and highly lyrical "second subject" first heard on the cellos. This leads in due course to the first of two "chase" sequences, in which an extraordinary and hilarious tuba solo bellows its way through scurrying woodwind and strings. An imposing Lento variation follows, which grows in grandeur until a second chase breaks out. At the climax of this, nemesis arrives with huge organ chords and a great flourish on the full orchestra. The "Chorale Finale" which follows is unquestionably a requiem for the mice, but such is Brian’s skill that, despite the clearly audible theme, the music treads a precise knife-edge between parody and real valedictory intensity.