Hello Mr. Paganini

Approfondimenti

Among the accolades for violinist Ning Feng is a first prize in the 2006 Paganini International Violin Competition, a laudable achievement to be sure. Whether this award is responsible for the title of this album (Hello Mr. Paganini) and Feng is boastfully referring to himself as Mr. Paganini, or if the title refers to the introduction of the listener to the music of Paganini is unclear. Feng's playing, however, does actually live up to the title if it's referring to himself. His technique throughout the demanding series of works performed on this disc is spotless; from left-hand pizzicato, double harmonics, lightning-fast scales, and treacherously difficult scales, Feng tosses it off with remarkable ease and dexterity. Intonation is equally precise throughout the album. Despite Feng's assertions that musical aspects of Paganini's compositions are equally important as the technical, Feng's playing does tend to favor precision execution over musical line. He also makes peculiar decisions to play Kreisler arrangements of several of the pieces rather than Paganini's original; this is particularly disappointing in the case of Caprice No. 24, arranged here for violin and piano. Nevertheless, this album still offers listeners a dazzling display of violin pyrotechnics and a few rarely heard Paganini gems.

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