Paganini: 24 Caprices (Arr. for Violin and Orchestra)
7/1/1999, 24 Tracks, 1:14:03
Featuring
Richard Weninger
Ruggiero Ricci
Weiner Chamber Orchestra
Niccolò Paganini
Did you know?
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Composition History
Paganini's 24 Caprices for solo violin, first published in 1820, were a challenge to artists due to their extreme difficulty and novel writing.
Compositional Technique
In his Caprices, Paganini achieved a perfect blend of technical imagination and musical inspiration, unlike some of his other works where virtuosity sometimes overshadowed musicality.
Composition History
Robert Schumann, a German composer, transcribed twelve of Paganini's Caprices for solo piano and later composed a piano accompaniment for all twenty-four pieces in his final years.
Interpretation
On this album, the first 23 Caprices are performed with an orchestral accompaniment based on Robert Schumann's piano accompaniment, orchestrated by Laszlo Meszlenyi.
Cultural Impact
Paganini's Caprices influenced foreign musicians like Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt, and through their transcriptions, had a greater impact abroad than in Italy, especially on pianists.
Recording & Production
The accompaniment for Caprice No. 24 on this album is based on a guitar part written by Paganini himself, orchestrated by Chris Nicholls.
Notable Performances
Ruggiero Ricci, the American violinist on this recording, made the first complete recording of Paganini's 24 Caprices for solo violin in 1947.
