Paganini: I Palpiti / Napoleon / Maestoso Suonata Sentimentale / Le Streghe

Featuring

Massimo Quarta
Stefania Redaelli
Niccolò Paganini

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Compositional Technique

Paganini's Sonata Napoléon is notable for being his first work written entirely for the single fourth string of the violin, pushing the instrument's technical and tonal limits.

Interpretation

Some compositions on this album, including Le Streghe, Sonata Napoléon, and Maestosa Suonata Sentimentale, are performed for the first time with Paganini's own piano accompaniment, recovered from manuscripts at the Rome Casanatense Library.

Instruments

Massimo Quarta performs on a Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù violin from 1735, known as the 'Ex Baron Knoop'.

Interpretation

The performances on this album are faithful to Paganini's autograph manuscripts, respecting original tonalities (including scordatura) and all expressive and dynamic indications.

Composition History

Paganini composed Maestosa Suonata Sentimentale, based on the Austrian Imperial hymn, to thank Emperor Franz I of Austria for honoring him as 'chamber virtuoso'.

Performer Biography

Massimo Quarta, the violinist on this album, won the prestigious 'N. Paganini International Violin Competition' in Genoa in 1991, becoming the first Italian to do so since Salvatore Accardo in 1958.