Search - Niccolo Paganini :: Paganini: 24 Caprices, Op. 1 (First Complete Recording)

Wow! Utter contempt for what is possible...

Randolph R. Wagner | Houston, Texas United States | 12/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to admit that I harbor a prejudice for this recording since it was the record to which I listened while growing up. It is the benchmark from which I judge all others. The other reviewers have rightly pointed out that the Accardo and Perlman recordings are outstanding...in fact they are both cleaner and more civilized than Ricci's. What they lack is the audacious mindset that anything is possible with regards to dexterity, nimbleness and bravura. Ricci transcends all others here. He takes off like a bat out of hell and never looks back. His interpretations are at the very edge of what it is physically possible for a human being to do (and sometimes he falls over the edge). The excitement he generates, however, is double that of Perlman's and Accardo's more sane versions. This is a must-have recording, warts and all!"

DIABOLIC

DAVID BRYSON | Glossop Derbyshire England | 02/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My purpose in owning this disc has been to improve my understanding of the violin, an instrument I am not able to play. The first step is to hear it on its own, isolated from other instruments. True, I have owned for many years a complete set of Bach's great partitas for solo violin, but they do another job entirely. With Bach instruments are there for the sake of music. What I want from Paganini is music that is there specifically to demonstrate this particular instrument.



If you play these 24 capricci in strict sequence you may start to think after a while that there is never going to be any demonstration of pizzicato technique, but it turns up finally in the short set of variations that comprises # 24. This is, of course, Paganini's celebrated theme that forms the basis of variations by Brahms, Rachmaninov, Boris Blacher and no doubt others, and you will surely be struck, as I certainly am, by how closely Brahms models a couple of his variations on Paganini's first two. How systematic this set of 24 pieces is as an exhibition of the capabilities of the violin I simply do not know. I definitely hear some effects in `harmonics', but I don't think I picked up any sul ponticello and certainly no weird effects such as col legno. My guess is that most of what any human violinist can be expected to do is here, and I feel pretty sure also that Ricci performs it to near the absolute limits of how it can be done.



Why this particular version rather than one of the more recent offerings? From my point of view it has simply been a matter of sticking with who I know. Ricci was one of the greatest virtuosi of the 20th century, I would guess probably of any century, and I have known, loved and admired his work all my life. Where the big names are concerned it is more or less bound to be the case that this or that maestro will be deemed to do this or that capriccio `better' than Ricci, and of course the reverse will also be true. As far as this music is concerned, such comparisons are a matter of transcendental indifference to me. It is perfectly pleasant music, but nowhere near significant enough from that point of view for me to have any interest in comparative assessments. I want to understand the technique and potential of the instrument better, I had a very good idea where to look in order to satisfy this wish, and modern technology enables me to invite this exalted virtuoso into my sitting-room any time I wish. The recording is perfectly adequate, though understandably not as vivid as we have come to expect over the last 40 years. In any case, looking through a number of reviews I seem to detect at least some consensus that Ricci is the best of the bunch anyway."