Paganini's Planet

Started by mc ukrneal, October 11, 2010, 11:36:04 AM

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mc ukrneal

Niccolo Paganini.  A genius of his generation (at least as a performer), and yet I could find no thread dedicated to him. After hearing part of his first violin concerto I am interested in hearing more. So I thought this would be the place to come. So what do you recommend?

Maybe this?


Or this?


Or maybe this on Brilliant?


And I'd be interested to hear more about him having originally transposed his music up when he performed it? Is that true?
Be kind to your fellow posters!!

Josquin des Prez

This tread didn't go as well as expected, did it. I'm curious about this myself. I like the caprices very much. I wouldn't necessarily consider them the work of a genius, but they are catchy, technically interesting even to a non violinist, and pretty much flawless within the limits of the music itself.

Every now and then i look out to see what else this composer has produced, but i'm always left cold by most of the compositions i come across, whether its a chamber piece or a concerto. I'm now starting to suspect the caprices are some sort of one hit wonder. Surely, if he had written anything else of that quality, it would be just as widely known, right?

mszczuj

Quote from: mc ukrneal on October 11, 2010, 11:36:04 AM
So what do you recommend?

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I think this is worth to spend some time with it.

After hearing it I thought that Paganini had owed his reputation to his instrument not to his technique.

There are two more records of concertos on "Il Cannone" and very good record of caprices played by Quarta on Stradivari.

mc ukrneal

Quote from: mc ukrneal on October 11, 2010, 11:36:04 AM
Niccolo Paganini.  A genius of his generation (at least as a performer), and yet I could find no thread dedicated to him. After hearing part of his first violin concerto I am interested in hearing more. So I thought this would be the place to come. So what do you recommend?

Maybe this?

I decided to get this one on DG. Performances are outstanding. I cannot speak to the others I originally posted. Accardo has everything - technique, a good feel for the style, and Dutoit and co. stay with him. I liked the concertos and other violin/orchestra pieces, which take up more than half of the time. I find the first two concertos to be the most interesting (after the caprices). If those don't thrill, then I would just put him to the side. This is the one I originally started with and enjoyed:
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Be kind to your fellow posters!!

Opus106

I have the Accardo disc with 1&2 and enjoy those concerti very much. The first one especially is like a Rossini opera with a single egoistic character: the soloist. ;D
Regards,
Navneeth

SonicMan46

TTT! after a 10+ year hiatus of apparent lack of interest?  ;D

Paganini's Guitar Quartets, i.e. 15 enjoyable but not profound works performed by Quartetto Paganini - I've owned the Dynamic box (first pic below) for about 10 years recorded in the 1980s-90s but reviews have been quite good.

More recently, a number of newer recordings been been released - a Vol. 1 of 3 discs on Brilliant and at least 3 volumes by the Paganini Ensemble Vienna (reviews hard to find on these CDs) - just curious if anyone has some comparative listening experience?  Dave :)

   

Florestan

Quote from: SonicMan46 on June 16, 2023, 11:01:26 AMTTT! after a 10+ year hiatus of apparent lack of interest?  ;D

Paganini's Guitar Quartets, i.e. 15 enjoyable but not profound works performed by Quartetto Paganini - I've owned the Dynamic box (first pic below) for about 10 years recorded in the 1980s-90s but reviews have been quite good.

More recently, a number of newer recordings been been released - a Vol. 1 of 3 discs on Brilliant and at least 3 volumes by the Paganini Ensemble Vienna (reviews hard to find on these CDs) - just curious if anyone has some comparative listening experience?  Dave :)

   

I have the Dynamic box as part of Paganini's complete chamber music set and it's been a constant source of delight ever since I acquired it. Music written to delight performers and listeners alike and to put a smile on their face. Right up my alley.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

Florestan

Quote from: mc ukrneal on October 11, 2010, 11:36:04 AMNiccolo Paganini.  A genius of his generation (at least as a performer), and yet I could find no thread dedicated to him. After hearing part of his first violin concerto I am interested in hearing more. So I thought this would be the place to come. So what do you recommend?

Maybe this?


Or this?


Or maybe this on Brilliant?



I have all three boxes and they are very good. The Brilliant one, with Alexandre Dubach the Monte Carlo Philharmonic conducted by Laurence Foster is a real sleeper. A few years ago I had the pleasure to attend a live concert in Bucharest with Dubach playing the complete caprices. Before playing each caprice he said a few words about it, and he kept the scores directly on the floor  :D (not that he needed them, anyway). One of the most enjoyable and memorable concerts I've ever attended, not least due to the unassuming, genial and easy-going personality of the violinist.



Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

SonicMan46

Quote from: Florestan on June 16, 2023, 11:58:03 AMI have all three boxes and they are very good. The Brilliant one, with Alexandre Dubach the Monte Carlo Philharmonic conducted by Laurence Foster is a real sleeper. A few years ago I had the pleasure to attend a live concert in Bucharest with Dubach playing the complete caprices. Before playing each caprice he said a few words about it, and he kept the scores directly on the floor  :D (not that he needed them, anyway). One of the most enjoyable and memorable concerts I've ever attended, not least due to the unassuming, genial and easy-going personality of the violinist.



Thanks Andrei for your comments - believe we've exchanged comments about the Dynamic box of guitar quartets in the past - will look on Spotify to see if the newer performances are there?  If so, will take a listen.  Dave :)

SonicMan46

Quote from: SonicMan46 on June 16, 2023, 11:01:26 AMPaganini's Guitar Quartets, i.e. 15 enjoyable but not profound works performed by Quartetto Paganini - I've owned the Dynamic box (first pic below) for about 10 years recorded in the 1980s-90s but reviews have been quite good.

More recently, a number of newer recordings been been released - a Vol. 1 of 3 discs on Brilliant and at least 3 volumes by the Paganini Ensemble Vienna (reviews hard to find on these CDs) - just curious if anyone has some comparative listening experience?  Dave :)

 

Last few days I put together a Spotify playlist of the newer recordings of the Guitar Quartets shown above and have listen to the entire list, plus now playing the Quartetto Paganini (from the 1980s/90s) - and am enjoying ALL performances (these works seem to just be well done in the right hands!) - visiting the Brilliant Website - their first 3-CD offering was just released although recorded over a number of years; another 3-CD set is promised to complete the 15 quartets - when?  As to the second Dynamic volumes, 3 have been released but don't seem available on their website HERE, and unsure if further recordings are to come out?  Dave :)

P.S. Prestomusic is having a Brilliant sale at the moment and the 3-CD jewel box is currently $10 USD there - so I made a purchase (along w/ some other bargains).



Maestro267

Wow! I'm surprised a legendary figure like Paganini hasn't even reached page 2 yet. The absolute PEAK of Romanticism alongside the immortal Liszt.

Florestan

Quote from: SonicMan46 on June 16, 2023, 01:53:34 PMThanks Andrei for your comments - believe we've exchanged comments about the Dynamic box of guitar quartets in the past

I think so too, Dave.

As for "enjoyable but not profound" --- this is exactly how Paganini intended them. They were written neither for being played in a concert hall to a reverently still-and-silent audience, nor for being listened to as a disembodied sound emanating from loudspeakers or headphones in the privacy of one's home -- but for a gathering of friends, where playing music, and witnessing the music-making, was just one out of many simultaneous activities and interests. It would not be too far off the mark to call them party music, and given that many last movements are waltzes or polonaises, even dance music. Be it as it might, they were intended for fun and merriment --- and this is indeed the effect they have on me.  :D
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

Florestan

Quote from: Maestro267 on June 18, 2023, 07:26:22 AMWow! I'm surprised a legendary figure like Paganini hasn't even reached page 2 yet.


At least this thread was created in 2010. Another legendary figure, Rossini, didn't even had a thread until I created one in 2019 --- and it didn't reached page 2 either.  ;D

QuoteThe absolute PEAK of Romanticism alongside the immortal Liszt.

I'm not so sure about that. He did not despised his (paying) audiences, he often played specific pieces by their request and he composed lots of music intended purely as performance, not as text. I'd say that all this marks him as much more an 18th-century figure than as a full-fledged Romantic.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

SonicMan46

Quote from: Maestro267 on June 18, 2023, 07:26:22 AMWow! I'm surprised a legendary figure like Paganini hasn't even reached page 2 yet. The absolute PEAK of Romanticism alongside the immortal Liszt.

Well, I've started a number of threads also that have remained at the first or second pages - maybe this one is about to jump to page 2?  ;D

Maestro267

Liszt and Paganini are always paired up as the great Romantics who girls swooned after.

Florestan

Quote from: Maestro267 on June 18, 2023, 11:22:28 AMLiszt and Paganini are always paired up as the great Romantics who girls swooned after.

It's an interesting topic. I would argue that Paganini is Romantic more by association than by personal inclination, and more by external appearance than by internal disposition. Liszt is a borderline case at least in his virtuoso years, where it's hard to differentiate between genuine Romantic feeling and public affectation of it.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini