By Rachel Barton Pine
Guest Columnist
Chicago, IL, USA
“To all the artists.” This
was Nicolò Paganini’s dedication on his 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1,
first published in 1820. While the Caprices are generally viewed as a
pyrotechnical tour-de-force that samples virtually all of the most challenging
techniques possible on the violin, it is Paganini’s inherent musicality that
has always been the foundation of my relationship with his music. Paganini’s
dedication reveals a depth of musical integrity and substance that I believe
was at his core.
At the age of six, I was
first introduced to Paganini’s 24 Caprices when my mother
purchased Itzhak
Perlman’s LP. I was captivated by the sheer variety of the pieces and amazed by
the technical possibilities of what could be done on the violin. However,
more than anything, I was moved by the colors and emotions of the music
itself. I listened to that LP over and over, dreaming that one day – if I
practiced very hard – I might be able to play them myself.
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| Rachel Barton Pine |
I finally had the
opportunity at the age of 10, when Almita and Roland Vamos (my teachers)
assigned me my first Caprice: #24. I still remember how thrilled I
was. Over the next four years, I studied each of the Caprices. I had
to interpret, memorize, and perform each one before the Vamoses would “pass”
it. As part of the core repertoire for international competitions, I
continued to practice the Caprices through the remainder of my teenage years.
In my early 20’s, I
explained to my boyfriend (now husband) the importance of the Caprices and how
a few violinists had performed them in a single concert. I always felt
that the Caprices tell an incredible story and that hearing them in their entirety
reveals something about the violin and about Paganini that is lost when hearing
isolated Caprices. I told him that it was something I had always aspired
to do, but felt it would require more preparation time than I would ever be
able to spare. Performing all 24 in a row is like playing tennis while
simultaneously reciting poetry.
He pushed me to review a
few Caprices at a time alongside my other repertoire. To my surprise, I
built my endurance and was able to give my first public performance of the complete
24 Caprices a short time later. It was a dream come true. Since then,
I have had the opportunity to repeat this concert around the world. Possibly
the most memorable to date was in Washington, D.C. at the Phillips Collection,
right next to the famous Delacroix painting of Paganini himself.
Paganini’s Influence
Today, Paganini is
remembered primarily for his exceptional virtuosity and his charismatic stage
persona. He was a product of the bel canto (“beautiful singing”) era in
Italy where the human voice was the most revered instrument and great singers
were worshiped. Great bel canto singers were renown for an agile technique
with the capacity for incredible virtuosity, an impeccable legato, graceful
phrasing through mastery of breath control, and the ability to execute fast,
accurate passagework.
Drawing from this vocal
tradition, Paganini revolutionized violin playing and elevated the violinist to
levels of superstardom previously only achieved by singers. He made
extensive use of the entire range of the violin and elevated violin techniques –
including left-hand pizzicato, harmonics, and playing entirely on a single
string – to new levels. Paganini also incorporated rapidly moving chords
and seemingly impossible combinations of notes into his music.
Astonished audiences
associated Paganini’s skill with supernatural forces; newspapers published
eyewitness accounts of people who claimed to have seen a witch standing
behind
him while he was performing, manipulating his fingers. He was widely believed
to have sold his soul in exchange for his amazing ability. Dressed all in
black, with long black hair to compliment his tall, gaunt frame (he suffered from
Marfan’s Syndrome), he really was the first rock star.
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| Nicolò Paganini |
However, Paganini was more
than just a technical wizard and a showy performer. He was a great
musician who composed wonderful melodies. Bel canto, at its core, is about
beauty and expression, and Paganini captured this in both his playing and his
compositions. Paganini’s melodies have inspired or been used by numerous
composers, including Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Brahms, and Rachmaninoff. The
great Italian composers of his day – legends like Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi,
and Rossini – held him in the highest regard. Rossini reportedly said that if
Paganini were to write opera, he’d put the rest of them out of business.
A Genius of the Music and of the Technique
My love for and
appreciation of Paganini’s pieces has continued to grow throughout the years. I
have spent numerous hours studying Paganini’s manuscript and use most of his
original bowings and articulation markings. These bowings, while
occasionally counter-intuitive and difficult, have a profound musical purpose
that is audible to listeners (e.g. the “backwards” bowing in the middle section
of #11 which gives the music a special lift, the alternating bows in the triple
stops of #9 which give the second section a longer line). Working with bel
canto singing coaches to gain insights into phrasing and sound has
significantly informed my interpretations.
Paganini’s 24 Caprices
follow in the footsteps of Locatelli (whose 24 Caprices served as cadenzas for
his 12 Concertos L’arte del violino of 1733) and the turn-of-the-century
etudes of Fiorillo, Rode, and Kreutzer. However, Paganini’s Caprices are
neither written-down improvisations nor didactic studies. They are
miniature gems, full of character, with varied structure and adventurous
harmonies.
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| 24 Caprices - Original Complete Score (1817) |
His Caprices are
considerably more avant-garde than his chamber music or his other solo pieces.
They are among only a handful of works he chose to publish during his
lifetime. The 24 Caprices were grouped into three parts, with the first
part containing the first six caprices, the second part containing the next
six, and the final twelve comprising the third part. I am convinced that
Paganini published his Caprices to preserve a record of both his technical
advances and his compositional prowess.
Paganini divides the
physical challenges equally between the left hand and right arm. The most extreme
left-hand contortions occur in #3, including a double-unison trill at the end
of each outer section and a reach of the 13th during the middle part (#12 also has numerous 12ths). Runs to the end of the
fingerboard and double stops such as thirds, sixths, octaves, and tenths
abound. Some of the special bowings includes brilliant arpeggios across four
strings (#1), string crosses over three and four strings (#2), multiple
bouncing down-bows (#5, #9), up-bow staccato (#7, #15, #21), and flying
staccato (#10). The outer sections of #18 and the middle of #19 are played on
the G string alone. #24 reprises many of the techniques already featured and
adds left-hand pizzicato in Variation 9.
Multiple-voice writing is
prominently featured in #4 and #8. Some of the more unusual markings include “Posato”
(sedate and dignified) for #7, #15, and #23, and “Amoroso” for #21, a lovely
aria. #11 also features particularly effective lyrical writing. #9, the only in
rondo form, imitates pairs of flute and horns, while #20 features a folk-like
melody over a drone. The continuous trills of #6 create a captivating and
mysterious mood, #14 is an heroic fanfare, and the outer sections of #17 and
#19 are the most light-hearted in the cycle. #13 is often referred to as “The
Devil’s Laughter” because of the sinister chuckles in its outer sections. The
shortest Caprice, #16 is distinguished by its creatively placed off-beat
accents. I have grown particularly fond of #12 as my “ugly duckling.”
After years of considering it to be perhaps the most awkward and least
rewarding of the Caprices, I now revel in its beautiful melodies that emerge
from the continual slurred string crosses.
My Secret Accomplice
Since 2002, I’ve been very
fortunate to have an incredible musical partner – the 1742 “ex-Bazzini
ex-Soldat” Guarneri del Gesu, on generous loan from my patron. This
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| 1742 “ex-Bazzini ex-Soldat” Guarneri del Gesu |
violin was made by the same maker and in the same year as Paganini’s famed “Il Cannone.” I recently discovered that using a “transitional” bow (an early Tourte) made an incredible difference in the execution of many of Paganini’s bowing techniques. It also helped me capture an early Romantic lightness of touch, a clarity and sweetness of tone which is quite different from the more muscular sound of the later Romantic era with which one often hears Paganini’s music played.
To All the Artists
Paganini’s dedicated his
Caprices to “all the artists.” In turn, I dedicated my new album Bel Canto Paganini: 24 Caprices and
other works for solo violin this recording to you, all the listeners. I am
most honored when, after I perform Paganini, listeners wax poetic about his
musicality without ever mentioning technique. I hope that, when listening
to this recording, you meet this great composer who has inspired me for a
lifetime.
Link:
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Rachel Barton Pine is an internationally known, award-winning violinist, composer and recording artist. She is also the President of the Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation that is dedicated to expanding the awareness of and the appreciation for classical music.