NICCOLÒ PAGANINI: 24 CAPRICCI, OP.1 - ŽIGA BRANK (VIOLINA)

Classical and Modern Music

Format: Digitalno

Code: 114304

EAN: 3838898114304

Around 1810, a new era commenced in the history of violin performance. It was then that Italian virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, born 27 October 1782 in Genoa, commenced his celebrated and dazzling career. He soon gained the nickname “the devil’s violinist”, as he set new standards for violin performance, a fact that was noted by the German Romantic composer Robert Schumann. No one before him had succeeded in developing bowing and finger technique to such an extent that it was possible to perform stunning arrangements of opera excerpts on this string instrument, as well as extraordinarily difficult passages and other technical “devilry”. In this respect, Paganini was unsurpassable!
On Paganini’s triumphant tours throughout Europe, the thrilled audience adored this mysterious artist with his tall, slender figure, while professional musicians could not begin to imagine how the virtuoso enticed such miraculous sounds from his violin. Paganini was undoubtedly the first musician to devote all of his astonishing technical performance skills to achieving one specific goal: he wanted to “bewitch” the audience, and was entirely successful in doing so! It is no wonder that he performed exclusively his own music, often also making violin arrangements of works from the opera repertoire. He was particularly attracted to the legacy of Gioachino Rossini. Despite his desire to please, Paganini was not simply an “artist”, an unsurpassable violinist, and someone who would be satisfied with technically flawless performance alone. Certain composers of the time commented on his qualities, including Franz Schubert, who in May 1828, having witnessed the violinist perform in Vienna, wrote that “in Paganini’s Adagio, I heard the singing of an angel”. Opera composer Meyerbeer, who himself had experience of how it is possible to play with the audience’s emotions, wrote: “There where our thinking ceases, Paganini continues!”
Niccolò Paganini also had a strong influence on his fellow composers. Franz Liszt acknowledged that his own perfected piano technique could never have been what it was without the model of Paganini’s virtuoso violin playing. In light of the violinist’s virtuosity, which was at the limits of what was performable, many composers, including Schumann, Brahms, and later Blacher and Lutosławski, were challenged to create some fascinating musical works.
Paganini was undoubtedly a precursor of the much later “culture industry”, which today dominates the artistic world, with the magical character often overshadowing the rational being. The Italian virtuoso recognised this very early: “My music is not as easy to write as it may seem; the audience always demands of me something unusual, something surprising, and always desires to hear longer compositions: this requires careful reflection.”
Even before Niccolò Paganini commenced his triumphant artistic march through Europe, connoisseurs  were already familiar with his Ventiquattro capricci per violino solo, Op. 1, which is nothing less than a compendium of technical and expressive innovations, while the same time representing an antipode to the then still unknown Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin by Johann Sebastian Bach.
The 24 Caprices were composed between 1802 and 1817. They are in fact etudes, each treating a specific technical problem, while at the same time also displaying a specific musical character.
The composer dedicated the capriccios to “all artists”, although in the manuscript he states the individual names of his fellow composers. For the last piece, Caprice No. 24, the composer mischievously dedicates the work to himself: “Niccolò Paganini, unfortunately already buried.”
Commenting on the fact that the Caprices are dedicated to all artists, Robert Schumann believed that the composer wanted did to say that the performance of his music can only be achieved by the very best artists. At the same time, the German Romantic wrote that the Caprices are undoubtedly the most technically demanding repertoire ever written for the violin. Today, these works still represent the touchstone for all professional violinists, and only the very best artists are able to perform these tiny yet accomplished works of art.

Monika Kartin
Translated by: Neville Hall

Žiga Brank is a violinist and violin professor at the Ljubljana Music and Ballet Conservatory. Since 2015, he has also taught at the Ljubljana Academy of Music. He previously held the position of concertmaster of the Symphonic Orchestra of the Slovene National Theatre (SNG) Maribor and was member of the Slovenian Philharmonic, as well as performing occasionally with the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra and the Zagreb Soloists.
In recent years, Brank has been actively involved in music recording, as evidenced by the extensive collection of exquisite recordings that he has made for the RTV Slovenia archives. His compact disc featuring six sonatas for solo violin by E. Ysaÿe was released in 2013 by the label ZKP RTV Slovenia, and was received with excellent reviews both in Slovenia and abroad. He also recorded F. Busoni’s rarely performed Violin Concerto with the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra. His first compact disc with pianist Dunja Robotti, featuring works by Mozart, Beethoven and Ernst, was released by ZKP RTV Slovenia in 2010, and in 2015 he recorded Paganini’s 24 Caprices for solo violin, Op. 1 for the same record label.
As a soloist, Brank has performed numerous recitals, impressing audiences all over Europe (Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Ireland). Many of his performances have been recorded and some have been broadcast live on radio. Numerous critics regard his playing as technically brilliant, also emphasising his refined feeling for interpretation and his convincing conveyance of the music to listeners.
Brank has performed a great deal as a soloist with orchestras, appearing at the subscription series of the RTV Slovenian Symphony Orchestra and at numerous important concert venues. His performance with the Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra of Košice (Bruch’s Violin Concerto) in 2015 attracted particular attention. In 2011, he also gave the Israeli premiere of a work for violin and orchestra by Israeli composer T. Akta. Brank’s playing has inspired a number of composers, who have dedicated works to him.
Brank began his music studies in Ljubljana under the tutorship of M. Kosi. He continued his studies with Prof. C. Hutcap at the Rostock College of Music and Theatre, and then with prof. J. Rissin at the Karlsruhe College of Music. While studying, he won many prestigious awards. He was the first recipient of the Škerjanc Award and won the Slovenian state competition TEMSIG on a number of occasions. He also won second prize in the “Jugend Musiziert” music competition in Germany, and for one year was awarded the use of a F. Ruggieri violin dating from 1680, preserved in the Baden-Württemberg state collection. He subsequently furthered his studies at masterclasses with world famous teachers such as Z. Bron, I. Ozim, M. Yashvili, and G. Zhislin.

Niccolò Paganini:

24 Capricci per violino solo, Op. 1

1       I. Andante - E major
2       II. Moderato - B minor
3       III. Sostenuto-Presto-Sostenuto - E minor
4       IV. Maestoso - C minor
5       V. Agitato - A minor
6       VI. Lento - G minor
7       VII. Posato - A minor
8       VIII. Maestoso - E flat major
9       IX. Allegretto - E major
10     X. Vivace - G minor
11     XI. Andante-Presto-Tempo I - C- major
12     XII. Allegro - A flat major
13     XIII. Allegro - B flat major
14     XIV. Moderato - E flat major
15     XV. Posato - E minor
16     XVI. Presto - G minor
17     XVII. Sostenuto-Andante - E flat major
18     XVIII. Corrente-Allegro - C major
19     XIX. Lento-Allegro assai - E flat major
20     XX. Allegretto - D major
21     XXI. Amoroso-Presto - A major
22     XXII. Marcato - F major
23     XXIII. Posato - E flat major
24     XXIV. Tema. Quasi Presto-Variazioni-Finale - A minor (listen!)

Žiga Brank

violina / violin