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 - The Complete Works for Violin/Viola, Cello & Guitar
Niccolò Paganini, Nils-Erik Sparf, Andreas Brantelid, David Harenstam
Kammermusik - Erschienen bei Proprius am 03.03.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Legendary Violist Emanuel Vardi Plays Paganini: 24 Caprices for the Violin, Op. 1
Klassik - Erschienen bei Cembal d'amour CD 129 am 02.02.2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Niccolò Paganini. 43 Ghiribizzi per Chitarra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Arsis Aclass am 05.09.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paganini: 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1 (Incomplete) [Digitally Remastered]
Klassik - Erschienen bei EMG Classical am 28.10.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Niccolò Paganini Essential Recordings
Klassik - Erschienen bei UME - Global Clearing House am 26.10.2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Niccolo Paganini. 20 Golden Melodies In Modern Processing
Klassik - Erschienen bei Russian Compact Disc am 11.09.2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Niccolo Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 5 In A Minor, MS 78 - Franz Schubert: Sonata For Violin In A Major, Op 162, D. 574 "Grand Duo"
Kammermusik - Erschienen bei RHI am 18.11.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classics In The Pop Of Treatments. Paganini - The Best
Klassik - Erschienen bei Russian Compact Disc am 09.06.1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paganini: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1 in D Major, Op. 6 (Digitally Remastered)
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Libor Pešek
Klassik - Erschienen bei EMG Classical am 28.10.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classics In The Pop Of Treatments. 20 Masterpieces Of Classics
Klassik - Erschienen bei Russian Compact Disc am 10.09.1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cantabile in D Major, Op. 17 (Live)
Klassik - Erschienen bei Cantabel Productions am 05.03.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 62 (Classical Music Masters)
Klassik - Erschienen bei Il Loggione Records am 09.03.2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Classical Age (Vol 4)
Symphonieorchester - Erschienen bei Stradivari Classics am 01.01.1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paganini: Sonata for Violin and Guitar No. 1 in a Major, Op. 3 (Digitally Remastered)
Klassik - Erschienen bei EMG Classical am 28.10.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paganini: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1 in D Major, Op. 6 (Digitally Remastered)
South German Philharmonic Orchestra, Hanspeter Gmur, Oliver Colbentson
Klassik - Erschienen bei EMG Classical am 28.10.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Centone di Sonata No. 2 for Violin & Guitar in D major
Klassik - Erschienen bei Digital Music Group, Inc. am 01.02.2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paganini: 24 Caprices, Op.1
Klassik - Erschienen bei Nilento Records am 11.11.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paganini: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1 in D Major, Op. 6 (Digitally Remastered)
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Vassily Sinaisky, Julia Krasko
Klassik - Erschienen bei EMG Classical am 28.10.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Niccolò Paganini: No. 5 Violin Concerto In A Minor, MS 76 - Serguéi Prokófiev: No. 1 Violin Concerto In D Major, Op. 19
Symphonieorchester - Erschienen bei RHI am 01.07.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Niccolo' Paganini: Sonate Ghiribizzi Minuetti
Klassik - Erschienen bei Giacomo Parimbelli Records am 06.05.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Perpetuum Mobile
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei Cristina Botnari am 07.03.2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo