Paganini 24

Study-Capricio for nonet on the Caprice No. 24 by Niccolò Paganini


Commentary
Recording
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Commentary

The attraction exerted by the last of the 24 Caprices for solo violin by Niccolò Paganini is very curious, conceived as a theme with 11 variations that has served to make some great composers of the 19th and 20th centuries turn their gaze to it for compose works that either follow the same structure as the original piece, or take some elements from it as the basis for a free development of the same without ever losing sight of the technique of variation.

Those composers are none other than Franz Liszt (1811-1886), who between 1838 and 1839 composed Paganini's Grandes études, S, 141, the 6th of which is based on Caprice No. 24. A few years later, Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) composed Variations for piano on a theme by Paganini, op. 35 (1862-1863), made up of two notebooks with 14 variations each.
Already in the 20th century, Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) composed in 1934 the Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini, op. 43, for piano and orchestra, which is nothing more than a set of 24 variations on the original Caprice, sometimes very freely treated; and in 1941 the Polish Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994) wrote Variations on a Theme by Paganini, which, originally written for two pianos, were transcribed in 1977 for piano and orchestra.
The most remarkable thing, and common to all of them, is letting themselves be imbued with the virtuosity of the original piece and, consequently, the enormous technical difficulty that they present for the performers. And it is still strange that, Caprice nº 24 being written for the violin, all the aforementioned works have the piano -or two pianos, as in the case of Lutoslawski's- as the protagonist.

Niccolò Paganini. Caprice nº 24 Hilary Hahn, violin

My approach to the work of Paganini is given, on the one hand, because it is one of my favorite pages of violin literature, and on the other, as a consequence of the chamber music activity carried out by the National Youth Orchestra of Spain (JONDE) as a fundamental part of their training project. Since 2007 and up to 2017 inclusive, the first fortnight of September was dedicated to a chamber music project that took place at Prieuré Le Mesnil St Martin (Montaut de Villeréal, France), a dream place located in the middle of the the Aquitaine region, ideal for its tranquility and its dimensions for a select group of a maximum of nine interpreters -those allowed by the facilities- to carry out high-level chamber music work for around 10 days, in the best circumstances of tranquility and motivation.
The usually varied selection of instrumentalists to carry out this activity sometimes made it difficult to find a suitable repertoire. In September 2013 the group was made up of a nonet made up of a wind quintet and a string quartet made up of violin, viola, cello and double bass, to the measure of the Nonet in F major op. 31 by Louis Spohr which occupied the entire second part of the concert. The first opened with Hans Vogt's Sonata per quattro archi, followed by an arrangement for nonet made by the author himself of Francisc Poulenc's Mouvements perpétuels, and completed with Jean Françaix's Wind Quintet No. 1.
In order to be able to offer an encore at the end of the concert in which the entire group would take part, and as I had done in previous editions and continued to do in later ones of those chamber music projects, I dared to do so on this occasion with a version for nonet of Caprice nº 24, in which all the content of the original piece was treated with all due respect, but with a free treatment in some harmonic and sometimes rhythmic aspects, in order to compose a piece with a modern flavor and make the most of the variety of the instrumental color of the group.

Dedicated to my son Luis, Paganini 24 was premiered as an encore of the concert by the JONDE chamber group held in the Chapel of the Prieuré Le Mesnil St Martin (Montaut de Villeréal) on September 14, 2013, played by Ruth Cañizal (flute), Verónica Cruz (oboe), Óliver Casanovas (clarinet), Delia Nerea Bastida (bassoon), Nicolás Gómez Naval (horn), Iván Görnemann (violin), Alejandro Regueira (viola), Millán Abeledo (violoncello) and Rodrigo Guijarro (double bass ).

Recording

Premiere recording (JONDE chamber group):
Ruth Cañizal, flute
Verónica Cruz, oboe
Óliver Casanovas, clarinet
Delia Nerea Bastida, bassoon
Nicolás Gómez Naval, horn
Iván Görnemann, violin
Alejandro Regueira, viola
Millán Abeledo, cello
Rodrigo Guijarro, double bass

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(Score and parts without watermarks available at www.asesores-musicales.com )