The 24 Caprices for Solo Violin were written in groups (seven, five and twelve) by Niccolò Paganini between 1802 and 1817. They are also designated as M.S.25 in Maria Rosa Moretti's and Anna Sorrento'sCatalogo tematico delle musiche di Niccolò Paganini which was published in 1982. The Caprices are in the form of études, with each number exploring different skills (double stoppedtrills, extremely fast switching of positions and strings, etc.)
Ricordi first published them in 1820, where they were grouped and numbered from 1 to 24 as Op. 1, together with 12 Sonatas for Violin and Guitar (Op. 2 and 3) and 6 Guitar Quartets (Op. 4 and 5). When Paganini released his Caprices, he dedicated them "alli artisti" (to the artists) rather than to a specific person. A sort of dedication can be recognized in Paganini's own score, where he annotated between 1832 and 1840 a 'dedicatee' for each Caprice (possibly ready for a new printed edition).
Ferdinand David's first edition was published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1854. David, as editor, also issued an edition of Caprices with piano accompaniments by Robert Schumann. Another edition by David was issued in two books of 12 caprices each "mit hinzugefügter Begleitung des Pianoforte von Ferdinand David" (with additional piano accompaniment by Ferdinand David) and published by Breitkopf & Härtel (c. 1860).
Unlike many earlier and later sets of 24 pieces, there was no intention to write these caprices in 24 different keys.
Nicknamed "The Arpeggio", this composition matches chordal playing with ricochet bowing across all 4 strings. The piece opens in E major and then quickly transitions into an E minor development section, where descending scales in thirds are introduced.
2
B minor
Moderato
Giuseppe Austri
The second caprice focuses on detaché with many string crossings across non-adjacent strings.
Caprice No. 4 is an exercise featuring passages that alter between slow passages with multiple voices and fast passages with many challenging double stops.
Nicknamed "The Trill", the sixth caprice exploits the use of left-hand tremolo on the violin by quickly alternating between different notes in the chord in one of the voices. A melody is played in one line with a tremolo occurring on another.
Caprice No. 8 focuses on sustaining a drone note while playing a melody at the same time, meanwhile incorporating many trills, double stops, and scales in staccato.
9
E major
Allegretto
Herrmann
Nicknamed "La Chasse" or "The Hunt", the violin's A and E strings imitate the flutes ("Sulla tastiera imitando il Flauto"), while the G and D strings imitate the horns ("imitando il Corno sulla D e G corda"). Primarily a study in double stops, with ricochet occurring in the middle section.
The eleventh caprice starts and ends with sections that require multiple voices, containing a passage that consists of many dotted notes rapidly jumping up and down the scale.
12
A♭ major
Allegro
Dhuler
This caprice consists of a slurred pattern of a melody on an upper string alternating with a drone note on a bottom string, forcing the violinist to stretch great distances while keeping a finger on the drone string.
Nicknamed "The Devil's Laughter", Caprice No. 13 starts out with scale-like double-stopped passages at a moderate speed. The second part consists of high speed runs that exercise left hand flexibility and position shifting, and right-hand high-speed string changing and detache bowing. The piece then repeats back to the beginning and ends right before reaching the second part for the second time.
The 14th caprice displays the violin's ability to voice chords. It contains many triple and quadruple stops. Stylistically, the piece imitates brass fanfares.
Caprice 15 is in ABA form. The "A" section is in E minor and starts with a melody in octaves followed by a variation in 32nd notes. The "B" section is in G major (the relative major to E minor) and features upbow staccato and singly-bowed arpeggios.
Caprice No. 16 is perhaps the simplest of the caprices. The chief difficulties are string crossings and some broken tenths. The only chord is the final note.
The "A" section contains numerous thirty-second note runs on the A and E strings that converse back and forth with double stops on the lower two strings. The middle section is famous for the incredibly difficult octave passage.
18
C major
Corrente/Allegro
Antoine Bohrer
The introduction to caprice 18 demonstrates playing on the G string in very high positions, imitating the sound of a post horn. This is followed by a rapid display of scales in thirds.
After 4 measures of octaves marked Lento, the rest of the caprice is in ABA form marked Allegro assai. The "A" section consists of playful staccato 8th notes, and the "B" section consists of fast 16th notes played on the G string. The opening 4 measures and the "A" section are in E♭ major, and the "B" section is in the relative minor (C minor).
20
D major
Allegretto
Carlo Bignami
Caprice 20 is famous for the use of the D string as a drone, backdropping a lyrical melody on the A and E strings, imitating a bagpipe. This is followed by a rapid sixteenth note passage with trills and flying staccato.
Caprice 21 begins with a very expressive, aria-like melody played in double-stopped sixths. This is followed by a section of rapid up-bow staccato.
22
F major
Marcato
Luigi Alliani
Caprice 22 explores many types of double and triple stops with louré bowing, then implementing various elements of slurred staccato, slurred tremolos and strings crossings.
23
E♭ major
Posato/Minore/Posato
–
Caprice No. 23 begins with a melody in octaves in E♭. The middle, contrasting section is a formidable exercise in string crossings: it requires the violinist to play patterns of three sixteenth notes on the G string and then cross quickly to play one on the E string, and then back to the G string, all at a quick tempo.
24
A minor
Tema: Quasi presto/variazioni I–XI/Finale
Nicolò Paganini, sepolto pur troppo (to my self, regrettably buried).
The theme from Caprice No. 24 is well known; it has been used as the basis for many pieces by a wide variety of composers. This caprice uses a wide range of highly advanced techniques such as tremendously fast scales and arpeggios, double and triple stops, left hand pizzicato, parallel octaves and tenths, rapid shifting, and string crossings.
In 1940, to celebrate the centenary of Paganini's death, the complete set in the arrangement for violin and piano by Ferdinand David was recorded by the 20-year-old Austrian violinist Ossy Renardy (pseudonym of Oskar Reiss), with Walter Robert on piano (78rpm's, RCA Victor; CD reprint by Biddulph). This was the world premiere recording of any version of the 24Caprices. Renardy had played the solo violin version of the 24 in his Carnegie Hall debut the previous October. In 1953, shortly before his untimely death, Renardy recorded the 24 again (on Paganini's Guarnieri del Gesù violin, 'Il Cannone'), in the same arrangement by David, with Eugene Helmer accompanying (2LPs, Remington R-99-146 & R-99-152).
In 1947, Ruggiero Ricci made the first complete recording of the 24 Caprices in their original version (Decca). Ricci later made further recordings, as stated below:
III) 1973 | LP | Vox Turnabout TV-S 34528 | + premiere recording of Caprice d'adieu in E major, MS 68 (USA, 1973)
IV) 1978 | 2LP | Price-Less C–93042 (CD reprint: Price-Less D12179) | "Golden Jubilee" – recorded direct-to-disc at Soundstage Recording Studio, Toronto, Canada | + Caprice d'adieu in E major, MS 68 + Duo merveille in C major, MS 6 (Toronto, 1978)
V) 1988 | CD | Radio Vaticana 061–003 / Biddulph LAW 016 | performed on Paganini's Guarneri del Gesù "Il Cannone" (Genova, 16–20 April 1988)
VI) 1998 | CD | Dynamic CDS244 | 80th Birthday Concert, live in Szeged Synagogue, Hungary | version for violin and orchestra by Laszlo Meszlény (Nos.1–23) and Chris Nicholls (No.24), based on the piano accompaniment composed by Robert Schumann (Hungary, 17 May 1998)
VII) 1982 | LaserDisc-NTSC | One Eleven, Ltd. URS-V-91610 | 69 mins. | BBC Scotland, Live television performance (p)1991
VIII) 1987 | VHS-NTSC | Shar Products Company RR–1 (Michigan University, 10 January 1987) | unedited performance
Other violinists have since recorded the complete set (listed in alphabetical order):
MALIKIAN, Ara (Warner Classics Apex, 2002) – Warner claim this to be the first complete recording made of the Caprices, following the repetition marks included in the autograph score. Total playing time: 100'25"
Berman, Pavel (Classica HD, 2013) – Orchestra dei Talenti Musicali – live, Biella, Teatro Sociale, 2013 (version with String Orchestra by Giedrius Kuprevičius)
Boyd, Bonita (flute) (Fleur De Son Classics, 2000) – arranged by Jules Herman for flute
Drahos, Béla (flute) (Hungarian issue – Radioton, 1996) – arranged by Jules Herman for flute. Première recording of the 24 Caprices performed on the flute
Vardi, Emanuel (viola) (Epic SC 6049, 1965) – arranged for viola. Recorded on a 17" Dodd viola in Vardi's home studio
Wihan String Quartet (Nimbus Alliance, 2009) – arranged by William Zinn for string quartet (Wihan SQ: Leos Cepicky and Jan Schulmeister, violins / Jiri Zigmund, viola / Ales Kasprik, cello)
9 variaciones sobre el capricho núm. 24 de Paganini by Manuel Quiroga (1928)
12 variaciones sobre el capricho núm. 24 de Paganini by Manuel Quiroga (1942)
Paganiniana, Variations for violin solo (Tema: Caprice 24; Var. I: Caprice 3; Var. II: Le Streghe; Var. III: Caprice 6; Var. IV: Caprice 14; Var. V: Caprice 21) by Nathan Milstein (1954)
50 Caprice Variations (on Caprice No. 24) by George Rochberg (1970)
Violin and piano
Paganini Variations on the 24th caprice by Eugène Ysaÿe (posthumous ed. 1960)
Trois caprices de Paganini Op. 40 (re-composition of Nos. 20, 21 and 24) by Karol Szymanowski (1918; rev. 1926)
Trois caprices de Paganini Op. 97 (re-composition of Nos. 10, 13 and 22) by Darius Milhaud (1927)
Paganini Variations Op.25 for Violin and Piano ('ad libitum') dedicated to Ruggiero Ricci by Paolo Pessina (1997)
Violin and orchestra
Capriccio dei Capricci (da Paganini, 2 Studi per orchestra di virtuosi), Op. 50, by Franco Mannino (1967)
Piano solo
Etudes after Paganini Caprices, Op. 3 (on Caprices Nos. 5, 9, 11, 13, 19, 16) by Robert Schumann (1832)
6 Concert Etudes after Paganini Caprices, Op. 10 (on Caprices Nos. 14, 6, 10, 4, 2, 3) by Robert Schumann (1833)
Études d'exécution transcendente d'après Paganini, S. 140 (on Caprices Nos. 5+6, 17, 1, 9, 24) by Franz Liszt (1838/40)
Grandes études de Paganini, S. 141 (on Caprices Nos. 6, 17, 1, 9, 24) by Franz Liszt (1851)
Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35 (Book I & II)] (on Caprice No. 24) by Johannes Brahms (1862/63)
Wariacje na temat Paganiniego (on Caprice No. 24) by Witold Lutosławski (1941; rescored 1979)
Orchestra
re-composition of various Paganini's works as Paganiniana, Op. 65: I. Allegro agitato (on Caprices Nos. 5, 12 and fragments from Nos. 16, 19) by Alfredo Casella (1942)
Paganini Variations, Op. 26 (on Caprice No. 24) by Boris Blacher (1947)
References
↑Rosenthal, Albi (1982), "An intriguing copy of Paganini's Capricci", in Monterosso, Raffaello (ed.), Nicolò Paganini e il suo tempo: relazioni e comunicazioni, Genova: Comune di Genova, pp.235–246
↑This process records the original sound direct to master discs without using a magnetic tape. Thus the full dynamic range and the original sound are fully preserved.
Philippe Borer, The Twenty-Four Caprices of Niccolò Paganini. Their significance for the history of violin playing and the music of the Romantic era, Stiftung Zentralstelle der Studentenschaft der Universität Zürich, Zurich, 1997
Konstantin Georgiyevich Mostras, 24 каприса для скрипки соло Н. Паганини: методические комментарии [=24 Caprices for solo violin solo by N. Paganini: methodical commentaries] Moscow, Musghiz, 1959 [165 p.]
