Niccolò Paganini
The remarkable international career of Niccolò Paganini -- regarded in legend as the greatest virtuoso violinist ever -- did not begin until relatively late in life. Born in Genoa in 1782, Paganini received his first musical instruction from his father, a devoted amateur musician. Niccolò's rapid progress on the violin, however, was such that his father (who was in fact a mandolinist, and thus little suited to train his precocious son) was soon compelled to send his son to Giacomo Costa, maestro di capella of the Cathedral at San Lorenzo, for further study. Although he quickly gained some local fame and even embarked on a minor tour of Italy in 1797, it would be many years before Paganini consented to perform outside his native land.
Paganini began composing seriously after his initial tour of Italy in 1797. He performed little during the initial years of the nineteenth century, preferring instead to devote his time to composition and romance (happily combining the two when he met a Florentine noblewoman, to this day anonymous, with a passion for the guitar). In 1805 he resumed his active musical career, accepting the directorship of the orchestra at Lucca, and in 1813 he embarked on a series of concert tours throughout the Italian peninsula.
In 1825, after nearly 30 years of intensive practice and self-scrutiny, Paganini felt he had developed his skills sufficiently to put them on display for all of Europe, and he left Italy for an extensive European tour (Vienna debut 1828, Paris 1831, London 1831). His astounding technical prowess amazed audiences of the day, and many fanciful legends arose to explain his remarkable abilities (one of the more popular held that he was in league with demonic powers, a legend rather supported by his gaunt, pale features). He died in 1840 from cancer of the larynx, having all but ended his concert career in 1834.
Paganini's impact on nineteenth century music cannot be overestimated: he set an entirely new standard of technical virtuosity; he was among the first musicians to champion the music of Berlioz (having commissioned, but never performed, Harold in Italy); and the inspirational effect that his works would have on the young Franz Liszt -- who set out to duplicate Paganini's achievements on the piano -- would alter both the course of music and the life of the young Liszt forever. Paganini's own compositions, including an unidentified number of violin concertos (some six are extant) and numerous chamber works, have more or less been abandoned. The concertos are written in the Italian operatic style of the day, oscillating between lyric charm and ferocious technical display, and are the only works of his which remain in the repertory (though many of the shorter works, by comparison, are gems and deserve to be played more).
© TiVo
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Paganini's Devil's Violin - 30 Must-Have Virtuoso Violin Classics
Classique - Paru chez Full Length le 4 juin 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paganini: Zsigmondy Plays Paganini
Denes Zsigmondy, Anneliese Nissen
Classique - Paru chez Tuxedo Music le 1 mai 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Napoli 1810: Italian Romantic Music
Classique - Paru chez Groupe Analekta, Inc le 29 janv. 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Paganini: Sonate & Ghiribizzi for Guitar
Classique - Paru chez Soundset le 28 mai 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Paganini: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 2 in B Minor, Op. 7 (Digitally Remastered)
USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Yevgeny Svetlanov, Andrei Korsakov
Classique - Paru chez EMG Classical le 28 oct. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Paganini - The Complete Works for Violin/Viola, Cello & Guitar
Nils-Erik Sparf, Andreas Brantelid, David Harenstam
Musique de chambre - Paru chez Naxos Sweden - Proprius Records le 3 mars 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classical Romance with Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini, Erich Appel, Igor Oïstrakh, Valter Despalj
Lounge - Paru chez PMI Collins Classics le 1 févr. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Salvatore Accardo plays Paganini
Salvatore Accardo, Niccolò Paganini
Classique - Paru chez UME - Global Clearing House le 8 août 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paganini: Sonata for Violin and Guitar No. 2 in G Major, Op. 3 (Digitally Remastered)
Classique - Paru chez EMG Classical le 28 oct. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
NSO Principals Series: Cantabile Violin & Guitar
李宜錦, 蘇孟風, Niccolò Paganini, Manuel de Falla, Béla Bartók, Manuel Ponce
Classique - Paru chez Jingo le 12 oct. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Niccolò Paganini: 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Opus1 (1958)
Musique de chambre - Paru chez Classical Moments le 4 mars 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paganini - Zsigmondy Plays Paganini
Niccolò Paganini, Anneliese Nissen, Denes Zsigmondy
Classique - Paru chez Denon le 1 janv. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Paganini Cosy Moments
Classique - Paru chez UME - Global Clearing House le 14 nov. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paganini: Violine & Gitarre
Classique - Paru chez Ton 4 Records le 24 janv. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Niccolò Paganini: 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Opus1 (1960)
Musique de chambre - Paru chez Classical Moments le 4 mars 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paganini: 24 Caprices, Op.1
Classique - Paru chez Naxos Sweden - Nilento le 11 nov. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paganini Violin Concertos
Classique - Paru chez Black Sheep Music le 24 avr. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strad Style
Classique - Paru chez Universal Music Romania le 11 janv. 2017
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo