Paganini: 24 Caprices, Op. 1, MS 25 (Arr. M. Skoryk for Orchestra)

Featuring

Alexander Zemtsov
Symphony Orchestra INSO Lemberg
Niccolò Paganini

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Notable Performances

The world premiere of Skoryk's orchestrations of Paganini's Caprices took place in Berlin in July 2005, conducted by Roman Kofman with the Student Symphony Orchestra of the Petro Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine.

Compositional Technique

Despite his extensive orchestration, Skoryk did not change a single note of Paganini's original Caprices, retaining the form, melody, and harmony while adding expressive counterpoints and modern percussion.

Compositional Technique

Skoryk's orchestration of Paganini's Caprices expands the normal symphony orchestra by almost thirty instruments, including 'exotic' ones like banjo, cowbells, and flexatone, to create a rich, modern sound.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Skoryk's motivation for orchestrating Paganini's Caprices was to emphasize their melodic brightness and innovative harmonic language, which he felt was lost in solo violin interpretation.

Composer Biography

Myroslav Skoryk's great-aunt was Solomija Krushelnytska, a world-famous operatic soprano who sang Madama Butterfly at Puccini's request.

Composition History

Myroslav Skoryk spent twenty years, from 1985 to 2005, orchestrating Paganini's 24 Caprices for full symphony orchestra, taking even longer than Paganini did to write the originals.

Composer Biography

Myroslav Skoryk, one of Ukraine's most prominent composers, was born in Lviv in 1938 and comes from a family deeply connected with the intellectual life of western Ukraine.