Borer 24 Caprices Paganini

UNIVERSI1Y OF TASMANIA Department of History

THE TWENTY-FOUR CAPRICES OF NICCOLO PAGANINI their significance for the history of violin playing and the music of the Romantic era

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Philippe Borer March 1995

This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any degree or diploma in any university and, to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis.

This thesis may be made available for loan

and limited copying in accordance with the Copyrigh: Ael 1968.

«{.l

-b0,-er' 11

The Twenty-Four Caprices of Niccoli) Paganini their significance for the history of violin playing and the music of the Romantic era

Abstract

.This project attempts to describe and elucidate the compositional and instrumental character of the 24 Caprices of Niccolo Paganini and their far-reaching influence on violin playing and on musical creativity up to the present time. There is also the wider inspirational value which can be traced in literature, poetry, and fine arts. The first Chapter aims to place the 24 Caprices in their historical perspective. The reception accorded to the work by prominent musicians of the time (in particular Chopin, Liszt and Schumann) whose attention was drawn to the concept of virtuosity as an essential parameter in musical composition, is emphasised and examined.

Chapter II investigates the unique significance of the dedication "alii Artisti" which suggests a Romantic manifesto some ten years before Hugo's prefaces to Cromwell and to the Eastern Lyrics.

Chapter III investigates Paganini's instrumental and musical background. It has often been claimed that Paganini was self-taught. However, evidence of his all-important early training in violin and composition makes him the true heir of the old Italian masters, representing at the same time a vital milestone for subsequent development of instrumental and compositional techniques. Paganini can thus be seen as representing a link between the classico-romantic and modem attitudes to instrumental writing reaching well into the twentieth century. In Chapter IV, some aspects of Paganini's compositional and performing styles are examined. A striking interpretative concept (the "suonare parlante") is discussed. Special consideration is given to instrumental techniques which are not employed in the Caprices. Their absence suggests that the Caprices represent a perhaps intentionally restrained statement of Paganini's violinistic knowledge.

Chapter V traces the origins of the violin Caprice and its development as a musical genre.

The Appendices include an analysis of selected Caprices, a diplomatic transcript of Caprices 1-4, a facsimile of the manuscript, as well as supporting documents such as

Feuilletsd'album and scales written by Paganini.

ttl

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGEN· iii vi vii

Abstract Abbreviations PREFACE CHAPTER I: THE 24 CAPRICES IN THEIR HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Virtuosity & music Artiste or charlatan? Origin of the Caprices Metternich's violin Milan 1820: publication of the Caprices Vienna 1828: first concerts outside Italy Paganini and Thalberg Paganini and Chopin Paganini and Schumann Paganini and Liszt Genealogical table

1 2 5 8 10 12 14 15 17 23 28 34

CHAPTER II: "ALLI ARTIST!" Interpretations and implications of an historic dedication The courtier An early Romantic Manifesto 'Suona bene ma non sorprende" The violation of expectations: a departure from Classical ideals Albi Rosenthal's 'intriguing copy' of the Caprices

35 35 38 43 49 50 52

CHAPTER III: THE STUDENT Biographical landmarks, early training and influences Paganini's teachers The siege of Genoa The final revision School versus Tradition

71 73 80 93 97 98

CHAPTER IV: PAGANINI AND "THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE VIOLIN' The suonare par/ante Harmonics Chromaticism Chordal playing Tempo fluctuation Fingering The e/ettricismo

101 105 111 11 a 124 131 134 147

CHAPTER V: ORIGINS & DEVELOPMENT OF THE VIOLIN CAPRICE The keyboard Caprice from Frescobaldi to Bach The violin Caprice Caprice or Etude? The violin Caprice after Paganini Collections of violin Caprices Miscellaneous Caprices from. Frescobaldi to Schnittke

149 150 153 15 161 16 a 170

IV

a

APPENDIX A: SAMPLE ANALYSES Caprice 1 Caprice 2 Caprice 3 Caprice 4 Caprice 9 Caprice 18 APPENDIX B: THE MANUSCRIPT Reproduction of the facsimile

172 181 186

191 198

203 208 211

APPENDIX C: THE DIPLOMATIC TRANSCRIPT Front cover Title page I (Opera I: rna) Caprice 1 Caprice Caprice Caprice Critical

171

233 234 235 236 238

2 3 4 commentary

240 242 244

APPENDIX D: ALBUM LEAVES & SCALES Capriccio per Violino Solo (to M. Dietrichstein) Con forte espressione... (to J.-P. Dantan) Scala di Paganini Segreto comunicato e raccomandato...

246 247 249 250

APPENDIX E: TWO CONVERSATIONS WITH J.M. SCHOTTKY

252

251

253

Biographical sketch Paganini's secret

261

SELECT BIBUOGRAPHY Manuscripts Printed scores Books and articles

264 266 271

y

Abbreviations. fingering & notation.

B.N.

Bibliotheque Nationale (Paris)

Bib!. Cas.

Biblioteca Casanatense (Rome)

dip!. tr.

diplomatic transcript!

ed.

edited

[M.S.]

these initials followed by Arabic numerals referto the thematic catalogue of the works of Paganini compiled by Maria Rosa Moretti and Anna Sorrento

ms.

manuscript Paganini Epistolario. These initials are followed, whennecessary, by an arabic numeral referring to Edward Neill's chronological classification

tr.

transcript

tr!.

translation

>

indicates relation pupil !Q teacher, for example: Getniniani (>Corelli) the trebleclef in mirrorimage indicates the scordatura-

Violinfingering: . o openstring, or left handpizzicato I index finger (not the thumb as in keyboard fingering) 2 tniddle finger 3 ring finger little finger 4 p thumb (p standsfor le pouce as used by Francceur, Leclairand others) + thumb, or lefthandpizzicato The systemof pitch identification used in this dissertation is as follows: .l1.

2:

S'

•C

e

t. e'

•

~

g

e"

e

lll

C

lll i

Pitch registers: Violoncello Viola Violin

C-G-d-a c - g - d'- a' g - d'- a'- e"

1Translationinto typography of all the details of the original. 2In this method of notation, the violin is treated as a transposing instrument, the music being notated accordingto the tuning of the instrument. not according to real pitch.

VI

Preface In offering the present monograph, I am very much aware that practically all aspects of

Paganini's life and work have been explored, discussed, and critically considered over the last 150 years by a number of performing artists and musicologists whose knowledge and artistic status are far above my own. It seems to me however that a creative genius represents an inexhaustible source of study and an opportunity to make continuing attempts to reach a higher degree of understanding - which can, of course, meet only with incomplete success. My fascination with Paganini links with my own educational background and my work as a performer. I also feel the need to consider striking musical phenomena in a wider context of related art and literature. This perhaps, to some extent, both explains and justifies my attempt to investigate the importance of the 24 Caprices which reaches far beyond the confines of their instrumental or compositional significance. I should like this study to be seen, and perhaps accepted, not as a definite statement of personal importance, but rather as an offering which may awake interest and lead to further research. It gives me pleasure to acknowledge the enormous help I have received from my academic supervisors and counsellors without whose guidance and support I would have been unable to undertake this task. In the first place I wish to thank my teacher Dr. Jan Sedivka, the eminent violinist and pedagogue, who has provided me with guidance for a number of years. In the historical aspects of the work, my vital source of help has been Prof. Rod M. Thomson who enabled me to organise the raw material and present it in a cohesive form. It is impossible to enumerate the many friends and colleagues who have generously assisted me in my research. Of the contemporary writers and musicologists, I wish to mention particularly Prof. Alma Brughera Capaldo, the founder and director of the Instituto di Studi Paganiniani of Genoa, as well as Prof. Edward Neill, whose work on Paganini has acquired the status of a classic. Thanks are also due to a number of Australian and overseas correspondents who have provided me with precious information:

Dr. M. C. Barabino (Genoa), Prof. R. Boss (Neuchatel), Prof. L. Breton (Lausanne), Dr. W. Donolato (Rolle), Prof. F. Gulli (Bloomington), Mr. Igor Kortchnoi (Geneva), Dr. P. MosettiCasaretto (Genoa), Mrs L. Oxley (Hobart), Prof. M. Rostal (Berne), Mr. Bruno Borer and Mrs. Adriana Borer (Auvernier), Mr. L. Stocchino (Rome), Mr. J. Werro (Berne), Mr. Laurie Zambon _ (Cremorne). I wish to thank the following librarians for their understanding help: Dr K.W. Geck (Sachsische Landesbibliothek, Dresden), Mrs. B. Kamber (Bibliotheque Universitaire, Lausanne), Mr. Locatelli (Bibliotheque de la Ville de Neuchatel), Mr. M. Penesco (Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris), Dr. Sommariva, (Biblioteca del Conservatorio Niccolo Paganini, Genoa), Mrs. A.-M. Toroncelli (Biblioteca Casanatense, Rome), Mrs. A. Zecca Laterza

(Biblioteca

del

Conservatorio ·"G.

Verdi",

Milan),

Mrs

A.

Zinsli

(Konservatoriumsbibliothek, Berne). I am also grateful to Prof. Tadeusz Wronski (Warsaw) for kindly sending a copy of his edition of the 24 Caprices.

p.x.

vii

Borer, History dept., 11th March 1995

CHAPTER I

NICCOLO PAGANINI Op.1 TWENTY-FOUR CAPRICES FOR VIOLIN SOLO·

Dedicated to the Artists

"These perennial companions to the violinist, together with the 6 Sonatas and Partitas of 1.5. Bach, form the foundation of the violinist's manual, both Old and New Testament",

Yehudi Menuhin writes in his preface to the facsimile edition of the manuscript of Paganini's 24 Caprices. 1 This "New Testament of the Violinist" was first published in 1820, creating a sensation in musical circles. With the Caprices, Paganini's contribution to the repertoire can now be seen as one of unchallengeable importance, both violinistically and musically. The Caprices stimulated creative exploration in violin playing by extending the limits of the instrument and encouraged the elaboration of new pedagogical approaches. They still exert their influence on the instruction of violinists of all countries.

There is no conservatorium

student who has not become acquainted, at least didactically, with this fundamental work (even when dully defined as "required repertoire"). In Poland and some other countries, the Caprices have made their appearance in the syllabus of secondary schools and are increasingly often played by violin students under fourteen years of age. 2 1Facsimile of the autograph manuscript of Paganini's 24 Caprices, ed. by Federico Mompellio, Milano, Ricordi, 1974, p.5. 2See Tadeusz Wronski's preface to his edition of the 24 Caprices, Krak6w: Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, 1977,p.3.

I

Thanks to many recent performances and recordings, the listener too has become familiar with the Caprices, enjoying these products of a remarkable period in the evolution of Italian music above all for their musical content. However, questions about their origins and history still remain, not to mention the enigma of their extraordinary inspirational powers exerted on composers up to the present time. There is also an influence which can be traced in literature, poetry and fine arts (Heine, Goethe, Stendhal, Ugo Foscolo, Ludwig Peter Lyser, Eugene Delacroix, Theophila Gautier, Franz Grillparzer, Felix Ziem, Louise de Vilrnorin, Frantisek Tichy, etc.).

A long-standing

controversy about the Caprices and Paganini's music in general also needs clarification.

While Paganini's contribution to the development of

instrumental technique is acknowledged una voce, his true worth as a musician (as opposed to a technical "wizard") and his real stature as a composer have often been questioned.

This applies particularly to the

Caprices which are not infrequently looked upon simply as studies of advanced technique, indispensable for the highest development of the mechanism, but devoid of "real musical content". This attitude, interestingly enough, is essentially that of violinists and violin teachers. Thus, each Caprice is seen as possessing specific therapeutic virtues and is selected for study as a cure for certain technical deficiencies or in order to develop one aspect of the mechanism or the other. The twenty-four Caprices, each in itself a particular technical discipline, constitute undoubtedly a masterly practical lesson of instrumental playing. But this would not suffice to explain their uncommon inspirational potential and the tremendous creative impetus they have given and still give - to violinists and composers (notably Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz, Frederic Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ferruccio Busoni, George Rochberg), all of whom considered them as masterpieces. Virtuosity and Music The very concept of virtuosity is central to this controversy.

The true nature

of this particular manifestation of musical expression, which obviously plays a

2

key role in Paganini's works, is regrettably often misunderstood. As Franz Liszt wrote: "VirtuoSity, far from being a monstrous excrescence, is an indispensable element of musical .. ,,3 composition.

Virtuosity is seen here as one of the parameters of musical composition, standing on equal terms with other co-ordinates such as harmony, melody, counterpoint, timbre, and structures such as variation, fugue, all of them having in tum characterised various periods in musical history. There are principles ruling each of these parameters which have been determined and developed by great composers through the ages. One could say that Paganini contributed to the definition of the laws of virtuosity.

By exploring the

extreme possibilities of the violin he not only extended the limits of the instrument, but, as Claudio Casini points out, he opened up a new dimension in musical language. 4 Paganini's compositions are founded on one precise structural criterion: the exploitation of the instrumental resources of the violin.

One could say that everything in his flamboyant compositions is

subordinated to this criterion; but melody, rhythm, harmony, ideas and form, are all vivified by a breathtaking technical brilliance and by an unconstrained poetical and lyrical inventiveness. A lesson to be learned from the history of music is not to use the words "invented" or "discovered" too readily. unpublished work L'apport de Pag-anini

a

Anne Penesco, in her still la technique du violon S has

convincingly demonstrated that most aspects of violin technique developed by Paganini existed before his time. However, he systematically exploited and extended the use of elements which had appeared only in a limited, sporadic way.

In doing so, he pioneered new avenues for the development of

instrumental virtuosity and, with his admirably structured and coherent set of 3"La virtuosite, loin d'etre une excroissance monstrueuse, est un element indispensable a la composition musicale" Liszt, Franz, Gesammelte Schriften. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Hartel 1881-1910, vol. N (1855-59). 4"Paganini ha impresso un'evoluzione allinguaggio musicale 0, se si preferisce, ha creato in esso una dimensione nueva" Casini, Claudie, raganini. Milan: Electa 1982, p.63 5penesco, Anne. I:apport de Paganini a 1a technique du vielen. Maitrise de musicologie, University of Paris N, 1974.

3

twenty-four Caprices, he made a significant contribution to the evolution of musical cornposition.P The Caprices can be compared to several great collections of compositions where one co-ordinate of the musical language assumes "archetypal" functions. A famous example is Das Wohltemperierte Klavjer of j.S. Bach which is entirely founded on the application of the laws of harmony and counterpoint and explores the interaction of these two forces, the vertical with the horizontal. The concertos of Antonio Vivaldi constitute another example:

in II Cjmento dell' Armonia con l' Invenzione, the

confrontation between harmony and melodic invention - as the title proclaims - is at the origin of the Venetian priest's remarkable musical discoveries. In works such as Das Wohltemperjerte Klavier or II Cimento dell' Armonia con rInvenzione, the composers chose to select one or a few aspects of musical language and succeeded in integrating the totality of their expression. Something similar happened with Paganini and his twenty-four Caprices.

There, one dimension of musical language, virtuosity, is

systematically explored: the musical ideas, their syntactic and structural treatment, everything is, as it were, submitted to its laws.

As a result, the

work, far from giving the impression of a one-sided perspective, reveals the power of suggestion of the virtuoso gesture and, beyond it, or maybe at the very origin of it, a pure form of poetical insight, One could say by analogy that Paganini's approach was similar to that of painters who select a specific quality on which the general logic of their work will depend (e.g. colour for impressionists, geometry for cubists, etc...). Paganini's brilliant intuition about a fundamental aspect of musical composition, and the clarity and coherence with which he formulated it in his twenty-four Caprices, had profound repercussions in the conception of instrumental playing and repertoire in the Romantic era.

The attention of the musical world was drawn to the

significance of virtuosity as an element in Art.

60 ne could perhaps say that technique - instrumental as well as compositional - is the means which enables the musician to deliver his message. Virtuosity could be thus defined as the adequation of a great message and the perfection of its expression. In an homage to Paganini, Paul Valery wrote that: "Le virtuose est celui qui, par excellence, donne vie et presence reelle tl ce qui n'etait qu'une ecriture lioree tl l'ignorance, tl la maladresse, tl !'insuffisante comprehension de qui que ce soit. Le virtuose incarne l'oeuure." (Esqyisse d'un Eloge de la Yirl!!QsM Nice, 1940, p.5).

4

Artiste Qr Charlatan? In Paganini's posthumous celebrity, three elements have played - and are still

playing - a role: the legend, the glamour of an exceptional destiny, the artistic event. The first two have often tyrannised the third. Paganini's extraordinary technique, his charismatic personality, to say nothing of the commercial success of his concert tours, cast a shadow on the deeper, more lasting aspects

oi his work: "As for no other musician [Sergio Martinotti writes], any critical discourse on Paganini should move away from his singular personal life, sift out a large corpus of more or less bad literature, pass many fictionalised episodes through the sieve...in order to arrive at his secret signature as a composer and to understand his art',7 [trl. PXBI

8 The creation of the Istituto di Studi Paganiniani in 1972 has given fresh stimulus to biographers and musicologists and, with the publication Qf the CatalQgQ TematicQ delle Musiche di NiccQlo Paganini 9, a fair evaluation oi Paganini's contribution to the field of musical composition is now possible, Next to the masterworks such as the 24 Caprices [M.5.25], the Three String Ouartets [M.S.20J, the Concerto in E flat MajQr[M.5.21] that place Paganini among the innovators of the early nineteenth century in Italian music, there is also the "utility" music he wrote and performed in large quantities to satisfy the demands of the public at large.

It consists mostly of pieces in mezzo

carattere style ("pots-pourris", variations on a single string, etc.) where the violin emulates, as it were, and even surpasses, the prowess of a coloratura singer. Often based on themes taken from the operatic repertoire of the time, 7"Come per nessun altro rnusicista, ogni discorso critico su Paganini dovra muoversi dalla sua vita singolare, vagliare tanta piu 0 meno cattiva letteratura, tanto dettaglio romanzato ...per raggiungere la sua cifra di compositore, la sua arte." Martinotti, Sergio, Ottocento Strumentale Italiano, Bologna, Forni, 1972, p.276. Bnte Institute of Paganinian Studies (Instituto di Studi Paganiniani) was founded in Genoa on June 22, 1972. Founding members: Dr Alma Brughera Capaldo, Dr. Pietro Berri, Federico M. Boero, Mario Cifatte, Gino Contilli, Luigi Cortese, Enrico Costa, Dr. Edward Neill, Prof. Salvatore Pintacuda (Conservatorium of Palermo), Dr. Carlo Marcello Rietmann. Director: Prof. Dr. Alma Brughera Capaldo. 9Catalogo Tematico delle Musiche dj Niccolo PaganiDi.compiled by Maria Rosa Moretti and Anna Sorrento, Genoa, Comune di Genova, 1982. This publication constitutes the most complete classification of Paganini's compositions to date. The works are arranged in chronological order in groups entitled: LDatable works, II. Undatable works, Ill.Sketches, IV. Lost works, V.Works of dubious origin, VI. Works erroneously attributed. All the works classified under I and II are distinguished by catalogue numbers preceded by the initials M.s. (for Moretti and Sorrento), which will be mentioned in further references.

5

these compositions received an enthusiastic reception by the Italian public, but, taken out of their historical/musical context, they may have offered a pretext to those who tried to minimise Paganini's stature as a composer. There is also a large corpus of chamber music works, in which the guitar has a significant presence (solo pieces, duets, trios and quartets). Last but not least, there are the works that one may define as "experimental": short preludes, Caprices, or exercises often written on the spur of the moment for students, friends or admirers. Among these pieces - in which special instrumental and compositional techniques are employed - one could mention the Sonata a Violino e Viola [M.S.108], the Capriccio a Ouattro Corde dedicated to Maurice Dietrichstein [M.S. 54], the Sei Prelil~for 2 violins and cello, the Scala per pianoforte dedicated to Clara Wieck, ~e Preludio per Violino dated Leipzig 16 October 1829, and the Scala obliqua e contraria per Chitarra dated Prague 4 January 1829. The many facets of Paganini's output reflect a very rich artistic personality which does not readily submit to definition. There have been and there still are many different - and often conflicting - interpretations of his contribution. The composer and music critic Francois Joseph Fetis accused Paganini of being a "charlatan", an impostor who wrote unplayable music. He later changed his mind and called him the greatest of living violinists.I'' For Robert Schumann, the sixth Caprice alone was "sufficient in itself to assure Paganini's position as one of the first Italian composers.r U Louis Spohr, who found in Paganini's compositions "a strange mixture of consummate genius, childishness and lack of taste", was alternately "charmed and repelled" by his style of playing.l 2 Heinrich Heine, more perhaps than any literary and music critic of his time, was preoccupied by the problem of virtuosity in relation to both musical and poetical expression. In a most interesting passage of Lutetia. he wrote that he had "never heard anyone play better but also, at times, play worse than Paganini."13 Hector Berlioz, the 10" ...Mr Felis. qui, en vertu des principes infaillibles de l'ecole a laquelle il appartient, avait accuse Paganini de charlatanisme, vient, loujours en verlu des memes principes, de Ie proclamer un grand violonisle" 1mbert de Laphaleque, G. Notice sur Ie celebre vjo!jnjsle Nicolo Paganjni, Paris E.GuyOI,1830, p.61. n"Die Nummer halte ich iibrigens fur besonders schon und zart und sie allein fur hinreichend, Paganini eine erste Stelle unter den neueren ilalienischen Komponisten zu sichem." Schumann, Robert. Gesammelte Scltriften fiber Musik pud Musiker Berlin: Wegweiser Verlag, 1922, p.165. 12Sp ohr, Louis. Letter to W. Speyer, June 5, 1830 (quoted by de Courcy, vol. I, p.392). 13"Ich habe niemand besser, aber auch zuzeiten niemand schlechter spielen genort als Paganini..." Heine, Heinrich. Siimtlicbe Scbrif\en, Munich: Carl Hanser Verlag, 1979,

6

'f

author of the Traite d'Instrumentation, maintained that: "It would take a book to enumerate all the new effeets that Paganini has found in his works, the

ingenious devices, the grand and noble forms, the orchestral combinations never, before him, employed or dreamed of... His harmony is always clear and of extraordinary sonority" 14 [trl.PXBl Yet, quite the opposite view is held by the musicologist Leon Plantiga who patronizingly describes Paganini concertos as being "decidedly pedestrian in harmony

and

instrumentation".15

A recent article in

La Nazione was

dedicated to the memory of the great Italian violinist Gioconda di Vito 16 who died last October in Rome.

For her, Paganini was not an interpreter but a

"Interprete? Paganini non fu un interprete. Fu un creatore come tutti i grandissimi".l7 Gioconda de Vito was introduced to the Caprices by her creator:

teacher Remy Principe who required all his advanced students to study and master them.

In Paganini, Principe wrote, the technique of the violin has

reached its highest point. 18 His students were reminded that the word technique came from the Greek

TixYT)

which signifies art.

To understand

Paganini musical message, Federico Mompellio writes, one should first concentrate on the study of the Caprices, which were dedicated to the "Artists": "In Paganini, one now wants to find the authentic figure of the musician. In such research, the Caprices could be of safe reference value in reaching meditated conclusions. With such work, the author is already well worthy of appearing in the musical Pamassus..."19

vol.V, p. 437 (Lutelia). 14"nfaudrait ecrire un volume pour indiquer tout ce que Paganini a trouve dans ses oeuvres d'effets nouveaux, de precedes Ingenieux, de formesnobleset grandioses, de combinaisons d'orchestre qu'on ne soupconnait meme pas avant lui. Sa rnelodie est la grande melodie italienne, mais fremissant d'une ardeur plus passionee en general que cellequ'on trouve dans les plus belles pages des compositeursdramatiques de son pays. Sonharmonie est toujours claire et d'une sonorite extraordinaire." Berlioz, Hector. Les Soirees de l'Orchestre, as

quoted by P. Berri, Paganinj la yjta e Ie opere. Milan: Bompiani, 1982, p.46. 15Plantinga, Leon. Romantic Music. New-York: W.w.Norton, 1984, p. 177. 16De Vito, Gioconda. (1907- October 1994) (e-Principe). 17Persone Luigi "Si e spenta aRoma Gioconda de Vito" (Obituary) in: La Nazione of 19 October, 1994. 18"La teenica vio!inistica tocca con Paganini Ie massime possibilita . Tullo quello che e stato fatto dopo nulla aggiunge di nuovo in fallo di tecnica pura". Principe, Remy. n YioUno. Manuale dj cultura e didattica yiolonistjca. Milan: Curci, pp.185-186. 19Mompellio, Federico (editor). Facsimile of the manuscript of Paganini's 24 Caprices. Milan:Ricordi, 1974, introduction.

7

Qrigin of the Caprices There is still a good deal of confusion regarding the exact date of composition of the Caprices and many hypotheses have been formulated. The fact that Paganini's correspondence does not contain any mention of the Caprices until 1836 adds to the mystery which surrounds their origin. It might be opportune to remember here Karol Lipinski's statement concerning the Caprices. The Polish violinist, who met with Paganini in Piacenza in 1818, told Schumann that the Caprices were originally written as gifts for friends. He said that later, when Giovanni Ricordi requested them for publication, Paganini reconstructed them from memory "in a great hurry and frenzy".l However, such an assumption has been defined as improbable by several musicologists, including Edward Neill. Among the reasons invoked, is the fact that Lipinski, when writing his recollections of Paganini, confused places, dates and facts. 2 Besides, there is no trace left of any copy of the Caprices prior to the manuscript handed in to Giovanni Ricordi (still in the possession of the Ricordi Publishing House, Milan).

Another reason is given by Edward Neill,

in the general introduction to his Urtext edition of the Caprices. The Genoabased musicologist convincingly points out that the study. of the manuscript owned by Ricordi irresistibly suggests an integrated collection linked "by a remarkable thread of continuity" rather than a grouping of pieces written in different places and at different times.3 However, there could well be a grain of truth in Lipinski's statement, and the hypothesis that Paganini could have specifically designated friends and fellow-violinists as dedicatees of one or 1$ee: Schumann, Robert, Gesammelte Schriften jiber Musik und Musiker. Berlin: Wegweiser Verlag, 1922, p.l64 , note •••. See also infra, pp. 57-58. From a letter that Paganini wrote to L.G. Germi (1st July 1818) it appears that Lipinski often played with him (in particular the quartets with guitar). .Lipinski may well have had the opportunity to glance through Paganini's music and manuscripts : "Un certo Lipinski polacca, professore di tnolino, venne

dalla Polonia in Italia espressamente per sentirmi; mi ritroviJ a Piacenza e stava quasi sempre can me, adorandomi. La stesso ha eseguiti il Quartetto di Carreg«, della Raggi, e di Germi perfettissimamente bene; ora se ne ritorna in Polonia per studiare qualche anna suI mio genere e dice di non volere sentire nessun allro prcfessore di tale strumento." (PE 19) "A certain Lipinski, a Pole, professor of the violin, came to Italy from Poland expressly to hear me ...He met with me in Piacenza and hardly ever left my side; he adores me. He played the Carrega, the Raggi, and the Germi Quartets extremely well ...Now he is returning to Poland to study my method and he says he never wants to hear another professor of this instrument:' [trl.PXBI 2Neill, Edward. Conversations with Ph. Borer, Genoa, May 1989. 3Paganini, Niccolo, Caprice; op.l. ed. by Edward Neill and Salvatore Accardo, MIlan: Ricordi, 1988, pp. ill and VIT.

8

another of his Caprices cannot be entirely discarded.s The only certitude concerning the date of composition of the Caprices is the terminus ad quem: upon receipt of the manuscript, Signor Tomaso, an employee of the firm Ricordi, entered the date of 24 November 1817 (the inscription appears on the bottom left-hand comer of the title-page and reads:

sr Tomaso, Ii 24 9bre

1817). As for the terminus a quo, different dates have been suggested, but all

remain speculative. The earliest date proposed originates from Paganini's declaration to Lichtenthal that, upon his return to Genoa in 1796, "he composed difficult music and worked continuously at difficult problems of his own invention.f

The slightly later date of 1799-1800 is suggested by

I.M.Yampolski, who attributes Paganini's initial inspiration to his discovery of Locatelli's music at the library of Marquis Di Negro, and to the concomitant influence of the "heroic and rebellious spirit of the Risorgimento period"." In 1799, life in Genoa had become precarious. As a consequence of the British

blockade, the arrival of grain was uncertain and irregular, bringing the threat of famine and epidemic. The situation prompted the Paganini family to move to San Biagio in the Polcevera Valley (San Quirico) where they had a country property. This stay may have provided Paganini with the calm needed to write important compositions. According to Yampolski, the young violinist also made furtive trips to Genoa at night, where "he studied till dawn the works of Corelli, Vivaldi, Tartini, Locatelli and other masters of the ancient Italian School in the library of the palazzo of his protector, Marquis Di Negro".7 [trl. I. Kortchnoi]

While retaining the idea that the Caprices could have been sketched during the stay at Romairone, the biographer Claudio Casini is inclined to think that 4see Chapter II: Rosenthal's "intriguing" copy of the Caprices. 5Autobiography, AMZ, May 1830, NOZO, p. 325. 6Mostras, Konstantin G. 24 Kaprisa dla skripk; solo N Paganini, Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe Muzikal'noe Izdatel'stvo 1959, preface by I.M. Yampolski, p. 5. 7'TIo H04aM. TatlKoM OT orne, llaraHl-IHH npogapaaca 9 feHYIO. 3TH onacasre noe3.QKH B

paar-ap soeaxsrx HM

.lletlcTBHA.Kor.n;a era MOrJ1H npWHSlTb aa SpaJKeCKoroJta3yTQHXa,

coaepmanxcs

co CMeJlOCTbIO Kap6oHapH.sl. 3,l1eCb. B naaauuo era nOKpOBHTeJlSl MapKH3a. lIH Herpo, B

eorarcn MY3blKaJIbHOff 6w6JlMOTeKe, llaraHHHH vacro npOCU'fmSaJI..Qo paccae-ra Haft npOH3SelleHHRMItl KOpeJlJu.1.. BHBa.JIbllH. Taprnaa, JIoKaTeJtJlJ.1.. H npyr-ax MaCTepOB crapoa

Mostras, Konstantin, op.cit., p.8 (I.M. Yampolski's preface). Yarnpolski's arresting hypothesis is examined in Chapter 3.

>tTaJlbSlHCKO'l CKp>tn>tQHo'l mxoasr."

9

they must have been written over a considerable period of time. s Another hypothesis is that Paganini worked on a final version of the Caprices after leaving the court of Lucca, sometime between 1812 and 1817. The prospect of a potential income from royalties may have prompted him to elaborate existing material into an organic, publishable collection. There is also Edward Neill's suggestion that the Caprices probably followed the Three String Quartets [M.S. 20) dated 1815, and were, therefore probably written around 1816.9 Be that as it may, Paganini's decision to publish the Caprices was, to a significant extent, a

strategic one: he had long been planning a great tour of Europe and intended the Caprices to be his musical visiting card. Acting as his own impresario and an able one - he wanted the publication to coincide with his debut abroad.l" Mettemich's violin Paganini saw a real possibility of putting his plan into effect during a stay in Rome,where he had been invited to play at two official functions given in honour of the Austrian Emperor (Teatro Tordinone, 20 April and 4 May 1819). The day before the first performance, obviously pleased by the fee offered, he wrote to Germi: "Tomorrow evening this government will give a function in honour of His Majesty at the Tordidone (or Apollo's) Theatre. There will be illumination a giomo and a concert of Paganini. 1 shall give another concert in a fortnight. The fee for these concerts has already been fixed at 2500 Scudi Colonnati which 1 shall remit to Chevalier Carli of Milano, so that he can add them to the 22.000 Milanese liras he holds already." 11 [ttl. PXB]

Prince Kaunitz von Rittenberg, Austrian ambassador to the Holy See, was very impressed by Paganini's performance and immediately engaged him to play at 8Casini, Claudio, PaganjnL Milan: Electa, 1982, p.62. 9"...collocabile intorno al 1816". Paganini, Niccolo. Capricej op,l. ed. by Edward Neill and Salvatore Accardo, Milan: Ricordi, 1988, p. III. I°This might account for the difference between the date of receipt by Ricordi and the actual date of publication which seems to have been "manipulated" by Paganini. lI"Domani sera questo Governo dara un trattenimento a S.M. nel Teatro Tordinone 0 d'Appolo con illuminazione a giorno e un'Accademia di Paganini: una seconda ne devo dare nella seconda settimana entrante. n prodotto di queste Accademie e gia fissato in Scudi Colonnati 2500,i quali rirnettero al Cav. Carli di Milano, perche li aggiunga aile 22 mila lire milanesi che tiene[...J" (PE 38).

10

a private reception, this time in honour of both the Emperor and Metternich. A first-hand description of this soiree, written by August Kestner, has escaped the attention of Paganini's biographers. It suggests that, one year before the publication of the Caprices, the 37 years old violinist was still comparatively little known: "By virtue of this experience, I am trying to illustrate the emotional state that affected me when I first heard the violinist Paganini, a stirring of emotions the like of which I have never experienced before or after in my life. It was in 1819 in Rome at a soiree given by Prince Kaunitz in honour of the Emperor Franz. The violinist, who was later the object of admiration, appeared here as a hitherto unknown newcomer. His name was only mentioned as a talent that had recently appeared. He began with a violin concerto by Rode in C (or D) minor."12 [tr!.PXB]

Metternich, suffering from a passing indisposition, did not attend the reception, but his daughter, Countess Esterhazy, gave such an enthusiastic description of Paganini's performance that the next morning, notwithstanding his condition, Metternich sent for Paganini. The Maestro soon arrived, but without his instrument, making it clear that he was responding to a flattering invitation, not to a summons to perform. However, feeling immediately at ease with the great diplomat and succumbing to Princess Esterhazy's charm and gracious compliments, he spontaneously seized Metternich's violin and played for his hosts. Metternich's enthusiasm knew no bounds. He invited Paganini to join an informal gathering of members of the Emperor's entourage the same evening, and was insistent that he go abroad and play in Vienna.l-' Seeing now the opportunity to embark on a concert tour with the 12"Durch diese Erfahrung erlautere ich die Gemiithsverfassung, in die ich gerieth, a1s ich zurn ersten Male den Violinspieler Paganini harte, eine Gemiithsaufregung, deren Aehnliches ich weder vorher, noch nachher in meinem Leben erfahren habe. Es war im Jahre 1819 in Rom beim Fiirsten Kaunitz in einer Soiree, dem Kaiser Franz zu Ehren. Der in spaterer Zeit bewunderte Violinspieler trat hier als ein noch unbekannter Ankommling auf; nur als ein so eben erschienenes Talent wurde sein Name genannt. Er begann mit einem Violin-Concert von Rohde [sic] aus dem c (oder d) Moll [...] "Kestner, August, Romische Studien. Berlin: Verlag der Deckerschen Geheimen Ober-Hofbuchdruckerei,1850, p. 34. Kestner, councillor of the Hannover legation, and vice-president of the Archeological Society in Rome and art researcher, attended several of Paganini's concerts. An entire chapter of his Romjsche Studjen is devoted to Paganini. Observations of extraordinary interest are found on pp. 46-47 and will be examined in due course. (Kestner's father and mother -J.G.c. Kestner and Charlotte Buff - were the models for Albert and Lotte in Goethe's Werther). 13 See: "Autobiografia di Paganini" in: AlllUlnacco Musicale, Storico e Umoristico, Milan: Tito Ricordi, 1853.

11

advantage of prestigious recommendations, Paganini promised Metternich that he would give the Viennese the privilege of his first concerts outside Italy. Several Italian commentators have disapproved of Paganini's promise, interpreting it as "a mark of subservience to the conquistadors and spoilers of his country".14

However, Geraldine de Courcy shrewdly remarks that

Paganini, with his modest family background "was first of all a plebeian and had none of the aristocrat's fierce pride before the conqueror".15 Paganini may be accused of calculating self-interest, but one can safely assume that his musical preoccupations had precedence over the political. The complexity of the two men's personalities must also be taken into account: Metternich, the powerful statesman, was also an able violinist who often played at soirees with Vienna's best musicians.I? There is no doubt that between Metternich and Paganini there existed a genuine sharing of interest and a mutual esteem which transcended personal or political considerations.

Milan. 1820: publication of the Caprices The publication of the first edition of the Caprices by Giovanni Ricordi 17 in 1820 created a sensation. The success was immediate and copies spread rapidly from Milan throughout Europe. 18 Contemporary virtuosos were stimulated

to emulation, trying to find the key to these musical enigmas. Many (and not just the lesser ones) capitulated, with the excuse that Paganini had written 140e Conrey, Geraldine. Paganini the Geooese, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1957, vol.I, p.194. 15'1b'd 1 . 16At the Congress of Vienna, Mettemich conducted the orchestra in concertos and symphonies, and successfully held his part in a string quartet. 17Ricordi, Giovanni (1785-1853), Italian music publisher. Trained as a violinist, he was for some time leader of the orchestra of the Fiando Theatre in Milan. Around 1804 he started a copisteria beneath the portico of the Palazzo della Ragione. In 1807, he spent several months in Leipzig studying the techniques of Breitkopf & Hartel and, after returning to Milan, on 16 January 1808, he formed a publishing partnership with the engraver and music seller Felice Festa. Their first, and probably only joint publication, was a duet from Farinelli's Calliroe. The partnership was terminated on 26 June 1808,and about the same time Ricordi took a shop at 4068 Contrada di Pescaria Vecchia, from which address his plate number 1 ( Antonio Nava's 1& Ouattro Stagionj) was issued: the firm RICORDI was founded. The firm's earliest editions were printed from engraved plates, and this remained the normal practice until the 1870's, when chromolithographic and offset processes were introduced. 18They soon became available in Norway where the eleven year old Ole Bull obtained a copy of them.

12

unplayable music. In Paris, Habeneck attempted to play them but finally laid down his bow. 19 Even Baillot was frightened: the great violinist is said to have exclaimed: "Omnes uulnerani, ultimus necai!" Others saw, beyond the technical challenge, new musical horizons to explore, and their artistic pursuits were given a fresh impulse. All things considered, the publication had fulfilled its purpose. In addition to the dithyrambic concert reports by travellers and foreign correspondents in Italy, there were now lively discussions about the 24 Caprices.

Europe was ready to hear the Italian

virtuoso. But illness struck, upsetting Paganini's plans. Professor Borda-", one of Italy's foremost physicians, suspected syphilis and applied a treatment which was then classical. But the mercury and the opium prescribed in dosi micidiali21 (Paganini's words) had a disastrous effect on him: "Fortunate is he who can depart for the other world without depending upon doctors. 1 am alive by pure miracle. An American doctor has saved me. He says that Borda has tried the mercury and the five bleedings just to find out what was causing my cough. Now, 1 am asking if tests of this sort should be made just as an experiment as if 1 were Simply a body sold to him... Eventually, he gave me opium in large quantities and though this relieved my cough a little, 1 found myself deprived of all my faculties...22 [trl. PXBl

For a long period, Paganini had to suspend all concert activities and eight years were to pass before he could consider carrying out his old project. In the meantime, the novelty of the- Caprices, far from having waned, had increasingly aroused the interest of musicians in Europe, and his concert appearances abroad were awaited with ever-increasing impatience. 19See: Felis, F.J., Biographical Notice of Nicola Paganini , London: Schott, 1852, p.79. 20Siro Borda (1761-1825), Professor of medicine at the University of Pavia. Used bleedings for diagnostic purposes as did all the followers of the theory of the counterstimulants whose motto proclaimed: ex juvantibus et nocentibus, 'from what helps and what harms' (details kindly given by Dr D. Thiebaud of Lausanne). 21"in murderous doses" 22"Fortunato a chi vien dato di partire per l'altro mondo senza dipendere dai medici. 10 sono vivo per un vero miracolo. Un medico americano rni ha salvato. Borda, al suo dire, tento la cura mercuriale , quanto li cinque emissioni di sangue, me Ie ha ordinate per indagare la causa della tosse. Ora dirnando se per sola indagine si debba fare tali prove, come a un corpo a lui venduto...In ultimo rni dava dell'oppio in quantita: e questo assopendo alquanto la tosse, rni trovai privo di tutte Ie facolta.,." (PE 68)

13

Vienna 1828: first cQncerts Qutside Italy It was in Vienna, to keep the promise made to Metternich, that Paganini, aged

46, inaugurated his grand European tour, There he gave a total of 14 concerts,

assisted by an orchestra of the first order (conducted by Hildenbrand, Schuppanzigh and Fradl). Vienna's best-known violinists congregated for the opening concert: Benesch, Bohm, Jansa, Mayseder, Slavik, Saint-Lubin, Panny, Ernst, all anxious to form an estimate of what the author Qf the Caprices was really capable of.

Also present were Franz Grillparzer, who drew inspiratiQn,

for Qne of his most astonishing pQems;23 Franz Schubert who, in the Adagio, "heard the singing Qf an angel";24 the Duke of Reichstadt, accompanied by his tutor, Maurice Dietrichstein. 25 The success was colossal: the Emperor bestowed on Paganini the honorary title of Chamber Virtuoso, the city of Vienna presented him with the medal of S.Salvator (in recompense for a . charity concert he gave for the benefit of St Mark's Almshouses) as well as a silver medal especially created in his honour, with the motto "Perituris sonis

non peritura gloria".26 This medal, engraved by Joseph Lang, is of particular interest because Paganini's "transitional" bow and Guarneri del Gesu violin are represented on one of its sides. In addition to the great concerts with orchestra, Paganini played at the reception given on the occasion of Metternich's 55th birthday. It is quite significant that the impact of his playing was not in any way lessened in that sort of context.

Adverse acoustic

conditions, absence of accompaniment (orchestra or piano) etc., did not seemed to affect him in any way. On the contrary, it was in intimate circles that the magnetism of his artistic personality and playing seem to have produced its most powerful effect, especially on young musicians (notably Thalberg, Chopin and Liszt). 23Du wiirst ein Morder nicht? Selbstmorder du! Was offnest du des Busens sichres Haus. Und stiiftt sie aus, die unverhiillte Seele / Und stellst sie hin, den Gaffern eine Lust? Fiihrst mit dem Dolch nach ihr und triffst; Und weinst und klagst darob / Und ziihlst mit Triinen ihre blui'gen Tropfen? Drauf hohnst du sie und dich / Aufjubelnd laut in gellendem Geliichter. Du nicht ein Morder? Freoler du am [chi Des eignen Leibs, der eignen Seele Morder; Und auch der meine doch ich weich'dir aus! Grillparzer, Franz. PAGAN1NL Adagio und Rondo auf der G-Saite [1828], in: Gedichte und Erzahlungen. Wien: Rudolf M. Rohrer Verlag, 1948, p.120. 24See: O.E.Deutsch (editor) Schubert. Die Erinnerungen seiner Freunde Leipzig, 1957, p.158. 25Dietrichstein helped Paganini in the organisation of the concerts (See Chapter 4). 26"With sounds doomed 10 perish. imperishable glory"

14

The impact of Paganini's playing 1. Vienna 1828: Paganini and Thalberg The 16 year old Sigismond Thalberg (Liszt's future rival) not only attended Mettemich's birthday party on May 15, but his name figured next to Paganini's on the musical program prepared by Marie Antoinette Leykam, the 55 year old Prince's young wife: "She had prepared several surprises, though they were not all equally successful. First came a short concert, Paganini playing for the first time at a private party. Everyone was extremely eager to see this strange figure and hear his demonic playing at close quarters...Before he appeared, Maurice Dietrichstein led a blond young man to the pianoforte, but just as he began to play, refreshments were passed round which distracted the attention of the company. Suddenly Dietrichstein called out angrily: 'Stop playing! Nobody is listening to you!' And it took a great deal of coaxing before the young man could be persuaded to resume the interrupted sonata. This embryo virtuoso was ...Thalberg! Paganini then followed with Le Streghe..,',l [trl. de Courcy]

The familiar apostrophe "Stop playing! Nobody is listening to you!" is better understood if one knows that Thalberg was in fact Dietrichstein's (illegitimate) son. 2 Sigismond Thalberg, who was born at the Paquis near Geneva on 8 January 1812, had studied composition with Sechter in Vienna and piano with Hummel. His encounter with Paganini had profound repercussions on his development as a virtuoso pianist. He was particularly impressed by the way Paganini created the illusion of several instruments. arpeggios in the Caprice Nel on the young pianist.

COT

In particular, the

pii: non mi sento exerted a real fascination

He committed himself to the task of adapting this

procedure for the piano and perfected a technique which made him famous: he had the idea of bringing out the melody with the thumbs, in the middle register, and surrounding it with sweeping arpeggios, thus creating the illusion of three hands. He employed this technique with extraordinary effect in his Priere de MoYse: 1Andlaw, Franz Freiherr von. Moin Tagebuch, Frankfurt, 1862. Quoted by de Conrey, in her own English translation (op. cit., vall, p. 273-74). 2It is supposed that Thalberg's mother was the Baroness von Weltzar, a pianist. Dietrichstein made arrangements with a certain Joseph Thalberg from Frankfurt who temporarily assumed the paternity. But as soon as circumstances became favourable, he took his son back with him to Vienna.

15

Andante 1

Z5

(ca. byP.X.B.)

This piece won universal acclaim and even Berlioz, who otherwise showed little interest in piano, admired it without reservation. Franz Liszt saw in Thalberg a dangerous rival and did not spare him attacks and criticisms. But, commenting on the Priere de MOIse - and tracing the origin of its inspiration he said: "Thalberg is the only man who plays the violin on the piano."3

This penetrating remark was an indirect allusion to Paganini's influence which can be traced in other works, such as the God save the King, and the Caprices op.15/19. There is also his late treatise L'Art du Chant applique au Piano. an attempt at applying the principles of bel canto to piano playing, with special consideration given to prosody and articulation. The concept of the

"suonare par/ante" is discussed. The far-reaching influence of Paganini can be felt in the present-day Neapolitan school of piano playing of which Thalberg, who settled in Posilippo in 1858, is considered the founder.s This can be verified by establishing the following teacher-pupil "genealogical trees": Yincenze Vitale (c-Sigismondc Cesi >Beniamino Cesi >Sigismond Thalberg) was, in tum, the teacher of Michele Campanella, Bruno Canino and Riccardo Muti. 5 The musical ascendency of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli can also be traced back to Thalberg (e-Anfossi >Martucci >Cesi >Thalberg).6 3Quoted by Walker, Alan (ed.), Franz us.t The Man & his Musk. London: Barrie & Jenkins, 1976, p. 56. 4See: Vitale, Vincenze. "Sigismondo Thalberg a Posilippo" in: Nuova Rivista di Musica Italiana, vol.VI, (1972),p.s03. 5Vincenzo Vitale also studied with Florestano Rossomandi (>Beniamino Cesi >SigismondThalberg). 6Data kindly confirmed by MO L. Stocchino, Rome.

16

2. Warsaw, 1829: Paganini and Chopin Paganini went to Warsaw to give one or two concerts, and eventually stayed to give ten. He had been invited there to perform at the festivities held on the occasion of Nicholas I's coronation as King of Poland. Most of these concerts took place at the National Theatre with Karol Lipinski leading the orchestra. Paganini also played at the royal palace for the Czar, after the coronation ceremony at the cathedral (24 May 1829). The Emperor of all the Russias presented him with a diamond ring and invited him to play in St.Petersburg. The concerts held at the National Theatre were distinguished by the presence of Frederic Chopin in the audience, The impressions made upon the young pianist were deep and lasting; to the end of his life Chopin spoke with enthusiasm of Paganini's playing in Warsaw, which he described as "absolute

perfecnon.l As a token of admiration, he wrote a set of variations for piano solo entitled Souvenir de Paganinj

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Inspired by Paganini's famous variations on the "Camaval de Venise", the Souvenir de Paganjni is written over an ostinato bass in 6/8 quavers, and continues throughout in the same mood, with an elaborate and brilliant writing for the right hand. The atmosphere is that of a real Gondoliera.r 1"La perfection mime" (Correspondence, 1830) [Letter to his parents] 2Written in 1829, just after Paganini's concerts, it was not published till 1872 (in the supplement of the journal "WARSAW ECHO MUSYCHNE") 3 Theophile Gautier, like Chopin, was inspired by Paganini's treatment of the theme. Here is a passage of his poem variations sur Ie Camaya! de venise :" Paganini Ie fantastique / Un soir, comme avec un crochet / A ramasse Ie theme antique / Du bout de son divin archei." (t:maux et Camees)

17

Although very seldom performed, it is one of Chopin's most poetical early compositions.

It finds an echo in later works like the Berceuse. the 13th

Prelude and, indeed, the famous Barcarolle op.60, in which the same rhythm is employed in a most evocative way:4

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It has often been said that the Etudes op.10, like the Souvenir de Paganini.

were written under the immediate influence of Paganini's playing. There is no doubt today that several of these studies were already composed in 1829. But there is also evidence to suggest that Chopin knew the Caprices (which were available from the library of the Warsaw Conservatoire) well before Paganini's visit to Poland.

[ozeph Elsner, Chopin's teacher at the

Conservatoire, was - as paradoxical as it may seem - a violinist, not a pianist. S Being a friend of Ferdinando Paer (Paganini composition's teacher)6 and a declared admirer of his School, Elsner. kept well informed of Italy's latest 4The characteristic rhythm of the barcarolle which so appealed to Chopin appears in three of Paganini's Caprices ( 2, 7, and IS). SKsawery J6zef [ozeph Elsner (1769-1854), in tum first violin in Brno, and then conductor at Lw6w, (Lenberg) before becoming director of the Opera and subsequently of the Conservatoire, in Warsaw. Wrote twenty-three operas, masses symphonies, etc... 6Ferdinando Paer (1771-1839) was, before Rossini's advent, one of the leading representatives of the Italian operatic school, "an admirable craftsman with a pronounced lyrical gift". As a teacher of counterpoint and composition, he had a number of successful students (notably Liszt and Paganini).

18

musical events, and there is little doubt that he would have discussed the merits of Paganini's 24 Caprices with his students.

Chopin's early

acquaintance with Paganini's compositional style may well explain his extraordinary receptivity to the live performances, which were, in the words of Camille Bourniquel, "l'etincelle aux poudres", There is also the fact that Elsner, in his capacity as Director of the Warsaw Conservatorium, organised a personal meeting with Paganini for some of his most promising students (including the violin prodigy Apollinaire de Kontzki and Frederic Chopin) and one can safely assume that instrumental and compositional matters were at the centre of the debate?

Be that as it may, Chopin's 24 Etudes were to

become the Magna Carta of Romantic piano technique just as Paganini's b.1 Caprices had become the "New Testament of violinists".

One can find here a

truly striking parallel: the same highly individual approach to instrumental playing, the same way of "exorcising difficulty by difficulty itself' and, above all, the shared aspiration to a fusion of bravura technique and poetic expression. In his incisive and well-documented book on Chopin, Camille Boumiquel outlines Paganini's influence: "It is always difficult to talk of the 'novelty' of a work, and to know how the public of the time

'heard' it. Beethoven's last sonatas opened a breach in traditional technique; but with Beethoven it was still 'the orchestra at the piano, rather than a new virtuosity'. The necessary rupture was, in fact, caused by a young Polish pianist who emerged fully armed from Minerva's head. Paganini's concerts in Warsaw had set the first spark to the powder. For Chopin, Paganini was not a kind of a meteoric Kreisler as conceived in the imagination of Hoffmann, but a genius completely identified with his instrument. What Paganini had been for the violin, Chopin was to become for the piano, Whoever speaks of magic, speaks the right formula ; Paganini is, then, the key to this transcendent universe. His virtuosity seems to make light of difficulties and exaggerated concern for style; it is the conquest of a new dimension - space. It is . claimed that the first Etudes were written as a result of this shock. They are, indeed, a miracle of precocity, but even more the passion of the apprentice who wants to know how far he can go.',a [ttl. PXBj

7Paganini carefully noted in his Libra Rosso: "M. Chopin, giovine pianista". SCamille Bourniquel, Chopin. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1957, pp.162-163: "Il est toujours difficile de parler de la "nouveaute" d'une ceuvre, et de savoir comment cel1e-ci a ete "entendue" par 105 contemporains. Les demieres sonates de Beethoven ouvrent une breche dans la technique traditionelle; mais Beethoven c'est encore "l'orchestre au piano, plutot qu'une virtuosite nouvelle" (L. Aguettant). Ce necessaire eclatement sera done I'ceuvre du jeune pianiste polonais sorti tout anne de la tete de Minerve. Les concerts de Paganini 11 Varsovie ont ete l'etincelle aux

19

Much would be gained from a comparative analysis of the Caprices and the Etudes. However, it must be made clear that Chopin did not take the Caprices as models in the narrow sense of the term. The idea of imitation was alien to Chopin's independent mind and T.S. Eliot's suggestion that influence "introduces one to oneself" seems to perfectly illustrate the case.? It would be difficult, for example, to isolate individual aspects of Chopin's playing that could be directly attributed to Paganini's influence. In this, Chopin differed from Thalberg, Schumann and Liszt, who attempted to reproduce (at times almost literally) the effects that Paganini was achieving on his violin. The impact of the Caprices, in Chopin's case, was of a wider inspirational order. They were a liberating influence, not a constraining model.

Chopin

considered the standard books of exercises by Czerny and Cramer to be outdated: what he had in mind was a sort of fusion of bravura technique and poetic expression which would not sacrifice formal clarity. Paganini offered him evidence of the feasibility of such a project and gave him confidence in his own powers. He learned from the Caprices that freedom of expression was perfectly compatible with formal perfection and unity. Virtuosity was the very tool he needed to accommodate all his musical ideas within a short "discourse space". He soon found how to integrate his own striking pianistic innovations within the concise, well-defined structure of an Etude;lO While retaining a high degree of formal finish, Chopin's music possesses all the freedom of Romantic music. poudres. Chopin ne retiendra pas l'image meteorique d'une sorte de Kreisler ne de l'imagination d'Hoffmann, mais celle d'un genie totalement identifie avec son instrument. Chopin sera pour Ie piano ce que Paganini a ete pour Ie violon. Qui dit magie, dit formule: Paganini est done la clef de cet univers transcendant. Chez lui la virtuosite semble se moquer de la difficulte et de l'hyperbole du style, elle est conquete de l'espace, dimension nouvelle. On veut que les premieres Etudes aient ete composees sous le choc ainsi eprouve. Miracle de la precocite, mais plus encore passion de l'apprenti qui veut savoir jusqu'ou va Ie possible." 9Eliot, T.5. To criticize the critic, London: Faber & Faber and Valerie Eliot,1965, p. 22. ("...that intense excitement and sense of enlargement and liberation which comes from a discovery which is also a discovery of oneself: but that is an experience which can only happen once.") lOtike the Caprices, many of the Chopin Etudes are based on the song form (A-B-A) with the middle section containing a development of the principal section. As in the Caprices ( and as in his own later Preludes), a single idea is carried through to the end, and all its potentialities are explored.

20

The "Italianism" of Chopin "This great Slav, Italian by education...", Maurice Ravel wrote of Chopin. This definition raises the question of the sources of Chopin's cultural and musical affinities. What can explain the extraordinary receptivity of the Polish pianist to Paganini's compositions? What was the role of Italian music in Chopin's early musical training? It is a fact that the influence of Italy had always been noticeable in the domain of the arts in Poland-J and that, in the 1820's, Italian opera was very much in vogue in Warsaw. His natural inclination for Italian music was strongly encouraged by his teacher [ozef Elsner, a fervent admirer of Paer and his operatic School.

Elsner had been awaiting with impatience the arrival of Paganini (Paer's illustrious pupil) and did everything to make him feel at home. A warm friendship ensued and Paganini showed his gratitude by writing the Suonata Varsavia for violin and orchestra, a set of variations on a mazurka theme by Elsner himse1f: 12

~ (ThtllU by J. Elslltr)

The Introduction comprises two original melodic episodes, the second of which has been defined as "of compelling, priceless, almost Chopinian lyricism":13 N. Paganini (9.Jonata Varsava)

.~

-

I

-

I

11The Jagellon and Saxon kings called in many artists and architects from Italy. 12 From the opera Krol Lokietek czyli Wisliczanki [King Lokietek, or the women of Wislica]

(1818). 13"d'una struggente, impagabile cantabilita quasi chopiniana." A. Cantu / D. Prefumo,1& Opere dj Pagaojnj, Genoa, SAGEP, 1982, p.174.

21

As already mentioned, Elsner arranged for Chopin and a few other students to meet with Paganini at the Conservatoire. Two years later, when Chopin went to Paris, he immediately made contact with Paer and Rossini who welcomed him on the grounds of Elsner's recommendation and Paganini's appreciation, and he soon became an habitue of the Theiitre des Italiens.

Later in life, on

his return from Majorca, Chopin stayed briefly in Genoa (1839).14 Reminiscences of the Paganini concerts came back and his interest in Italian traditional music was renewed.

Two forms particularly attracted him - the

South Italian tarantella and the Venetian barcarola. Two important works resulted, the Tarantella in Ab, Op.43 and the Barcarolle in F#,op.60, in which the suggestive rhythm of the early Souvenir de Paganinj reappears with a touch of nostalgia:

P. Chopin (B arcarolle op. 60)

Allegretto

bars 4·5

14He also spent some weeks in Marseilles. Paganini, very ill, was at about the same time travelling from Marseilles to Genoa (September 1839). It is possible that the two great artists had then an opportunity to meet for the last time.

22

3. Frankfurt 1830, Paganini and Schumann

On Easter Sunday 1830, Schumann, at that time a law-student at Heidelberg University, went to Frankfurt to hear Paganini. He had long looked forward to attending a concert of the artist who was

50

highly regarded by his piano

teacher, Friedrich Wieck.! The year before (October 1829), Wieck, accompanied by his 10 year old daughter Clara, had visited Paganini in Leipzig: "I had to play my Polonaise in E flat on an old piano with black keys that some student had left behind [Clara Wieck wrote]. Paganini was immensely pleased, father telling him meanwhile that I have a bent for music because I have feeling. sensitivity. He at once gave us permission to attend all his rehearsals, which we did.,,2 [trl. de Courey]

Paganini became fond of young Clara and wrote in her autograph book a chromatic scale for piano harmonised in contrary motion, which she kept and valued till the end of her life:3

II

Al merito singotare di madamigella Clara Wieck Oil 1

l~ .. ldipl1:lc.

"

""!'XBl

~

..

,

L

"

~"

114-

.Q.

N.Paganini ..:3~

I"

u

I

[Sachsische LandesbibliothekDresden, Mus. Schul 223]

Friedrich Wieck's impression was that "no singer had ever moved him deeply as an Adagio played by Paganini",

50

Schumann therefore arrived in

Frankfurt with understandably high expectations. However he was 1Friedrich Wieck (1785-1873), noted professor of the piano. His daughter Clara (future wife of Schumann) became one of the greatest pianist of her time. 2 Quoted in de Courcy, op.cit.Vol.I, p.357, from the Journal of Clara Wieck-Schumann, Zwickau, Schumann Museum (de Courcy's English translation). 3 She said later that it was for her "a souvenir of the greatest artist who had ever been in Leipzig". Clara Schumann's album containing Paganini's scale is now in the possession of the Sachsissche Landesbibliothek Dresden. See infra, Chapter IV. (3. Chromaticism and 4. Chordal playing).

23

overwhelmed by surprise and emotion. After the concert, he noted in his diary: "Easter Sunday! In the evening Paganini; was it not ecstatic? Under his hands the driest exercises flame up like Pythian pronouncements!"

Schumann diplomatically announced to his mother that he had decided to abandon his law studies. As a direct outcome of the Frankfurt concert, he set to the task of adapting some of the Paganini Caprices for the piano. He saw in them so many gems ("so vie! Demanthaltiges") that he decided to transcribe several of them "in order to preserve them, to set them and make them shine".4 In a first set (6 Studien pach Capricen von Pa,ganini op.3), he closely adhered to Paganini's text, concentrating on the task of fitting these violin solos into the idiom of the keyboard. The preface to that opus, practically a piano method in itself, contains a theory of fingering as well as a definition of the Caprice which sheds light on the importance accorded to this genre by Romantic composers: "To no other type of musical compositions are poetic liberties as beautifully suited as to the Caprice.

But ii, beyond the lightness and the humour which should characterise it, profundity

and depth of study also appear, then this is really true mastery.'·5 [ttl. PXBJ

The second set (6 Concert-Hiiden nach Capricen yon Paganini op.IO), while still an attempt to translate Paganini's music from one instrumental medium to another, goes a step further: "...In an earlier publication of a book of studies after Paganini, I copied -perhaps only to its detriment" the original almost note for note, and merely filled in the harmony. But in the present case, I broke loose from the pedantry of the literal translation and wanted to give the 4Schumann, Robert .Gesammelte 5chriften iiber Musik und Musiker, Berlin: Volksverband der Biicherfreunde, Wegweiser Verlag, 1922,p. 164. 5"Keiner andem Gattung musikalischer Satze stehen poetische Fretheiten so schon als der Caprice. Ist aber hinter der Leichtigkeit und dem Humor, wekhe sie charakterisieren sollen, auch Griindlichkeit und tieferes Studium sichtbar, so ist das wah! die echte Meisterschaft."Schumann, Robert, 6 Studien nach Capricen yon Paganin; op,3 (1832), ed. by E. von Sauer, Frankfurt: C.F,Peters, p. 3,

24

impression of an original composition for the piano which, without sacrificing the underlying poetic idea, would allow one to forget its violinistic origin. It must be understood that to achieve this I was obliged sometimes to alter, entirely eliminate, or add - particularly in regard to harmony and form; but this was always done with the consideration demanded by so powerful and honored a spirit."6 [trl.PXBJ

To exemplify this process of assimilation and re-creation, the opening bars of op.l0 N° 2 (after Paganini's 6th Caprice) and of op.lO N° 4 (after Paganini's 4th Caprice) will suffice: bo]~Lmo

R.Schumenn (op.l O,N22)

ce.nte.bile

naest so

"""'.......1a N24

Paganini's Caprices remained Schumann's companions throughout his life. Their performance and transcription by other artists always aroused his interest, and, shortly before his death, he provided the original violin part with a piano accompaniment for the practical use of concert violinists." 6"Anders aber, als bei der Herausgabe eines friiheren Heftes von 5tudien nach Paganini wo ich das Original, vielleicht zu dessen Nachteil, ziernlich Note um Note kopierte und harmonisch ausbaute, machte ich mich diesmal von der Pedanterie einer wortlich treuen Uebertragung los und mochte, daB die vorliegende den Eindruck einer selbstandigen Klavierkomposition gabe, welche den Violinursprung vergessen lasse, ohne daB dadurch das Werk an poetischer Idee eingebiitzt habe. DaB ich, dieses zu erlangen, namentlich in Hinsicht der Harmonie und Form, vieles anders stellen, ganz weglassen oder hinzutun muBte versteht sich ebenso, wie daB es stets mit der Vorsicht geschah, die ein so machtiger verehrter Geist gebietet." Schumann, Robert, Gesamroelte 5chriften jiber Musjk und Musiker. p. 164.

25

One can observe that certain developments in Romantic piano technique have their origin in Paganini's op.L

For example, Schumann, followed by

Mendelssohn, Liszt and others, made frequent use of the reciprocating arpeggios found in Caprice 1:

~ 1,~·.I'1//1

.~~

,

:, l

~~~~~ I I -1 .. _

.. -1

-1 .. _

.. -I

lu

-1 .... -1

! Ii

r

U i "ace

J., 63

R. Schumann (Etudes Symphoniques)

~~ .l . l~. i?J;&f: W ~ l

"Fulgens sequar" A striking reference to Paganini is found in Carnaval Qp.9. 8 Here the violinist appears as one of the "characters" of the piece, together with Florestan and Eusebius.? Chiarina (for Clara Wieck), Estrella (for Ernestine) and Chopin: 7This piano accompaniment was published by Peters (Leipzig, 1941)with the addition of an excellent Urtext edition of the original violin part by Georg Schunemann. 8Completed in 1835, and dedicated to Karol Lipinski. 9Fictitious members of the Davidsbund, a friendly and musical association invented by Schumann. The Davidsbiindler set out to combat the musical "Philistines", hence the title of the finale of the Carnayal.

26

.R. Schuma~n (Carne'yel op.9)

> The intensity of this lightning musical portrait calls to mind the sharp contours of etchings by Goya (Los Caprichos). Here, Schumann has captured a characteristic feature of Paganini's style. The density of the texture in presto semiquavers is enhanced and dynamised by the persistent syncopation. This can perhaps be seen in relation to the modern linguistic concept of intense

latching. 10 The last bars are charged with symbolic overtones. The ominous reiteration of the F minor chord, followed by the luminous emergence of y7 of VII in harmonics is of magical effect :

This rare use of harmonics in piano literature requires a pedal technique sui

generis.

Of great interest is the instruction rnessa di voce « » for the final

chord. This is part of a whole series of effects that Schumann experimented with after hearing Paganini.

lOThe maximisation of the exploitation of discourse space.

27

4. Paris, 1831: Paganini and Liszt

Paganini could hardly have chosen a better time for his first appearance in Paris. He had long postponed this trip, not only on account of the atmosphere highly charged with revolution in France, but also because he was apprehensive of the Parisian public. He well knew from Spohr and other colleagues that "it was always a hazardous undertaking for a foreign artist to make a public appearance in Paris since the Parisians were possessed with the notion that they had the finest violinists in the world."! However, when he arrived in the capital in February 1831, the circumstances proved propitious both artistically and politically. Just one year before, Victor Hugo and the young Romantics had won the bataille d'Hernani (25 February 1830), and since the July Revolution and the installation of Louis Philippe, there was a feeling of liberty and of excitement in the air. The roi-citoyen was busy organising his regime along egalitarian lines and the young Romantics were ready "to glorify anyone who, in attitude, audacity, or achievements, personified their ideals".2

Another favourable circumstance derived from

the recent privatisation of the Opera. Previously operated under direct control of the King, the Paris Opera had just been let out as a commercial concession to the entrepreneur Louis Veron. 3 Facing unexpected difficulties of concert bookings, Veron saw in Paganini's arrival the ideal solution to his problems and immediately engaged the Maestro for ten concerts (9, 13, 20, 23, 27 March and 1, 3, 8, 15, 24 Aprill.s A Romantic constellation

.On 9 March 1831, the orchestra, conducted by Habeneck, opened the program with Beethoven's Egmont Overture. 5 For this "Soiree des Gourmets" (as advertised in the Paris journals), an extraordinary parterre of celebrities had 15pohr, Louis. Selbstbjographje. Cassel, 1860, vol.Il, p.127. 2De Courcy, Geraldine, op.cit.vol.Il, p .4. . 3Until he accepted Louis Philippe's invitation to run the Opera for a period of six years "Ii ses risques et perils", Veron had been chief editor of the progressive literary journal La Revue de Paris, opening its columns to the young Romantics. 4Dates kindly confirmed by archives of the Opera de Paris. 5an Paganini's special request, a work by Beethoven had to be played at each concert.

28

assembled in the auditorium of the Paris Opera, awaiting Paganini's entrance. Among those known to have been present one can mention: Eugene Delacroix, Victor Hugo, Charles Nodier, Theophila Gautier, Jules [anin, Alphonse Karr, Alfred de Musset, Alfred de Vigny, George Sand Chabillee en homme"), Emile de Girardin, Ludwig Boerne, Charles de Beriot, Maria Malibran, Rossini, Dionysio Aguado, Castil-Blaze, Sainte-Beuve, Troupenas, Honore de Balzac, Pierre Baillot, Gaetano Donizetti, Auber, Cherubini, Pacini, Halevy, and Liszt.6 Franz Liszt, aged 20, was at a crucial point of his life. After a love affair with his pupil Caroline de Saint-Cricq, he had suffered a nervous breakdown and was seriously considering giving up his musical career to enter a religious order, spending hours in discussion with the religious philosopher, the Abbe de Lamennais. Paganini's performance seemed to cure him of his depression. Not only did he recommence practising intensively but, like Schumann one year before, he set about transcribing several of Paganini's Caprices. Alan Walker writes that "during the years 1831-38, he literally lived with these pteces''.? Consideration must also be given to the fact that Liszt knew Paganini's music through the published edition of the Caprices well before 1831 and therefore had been well prepared to receive Paganini's performance. Carl

Czerny." his former piano teacher in Vienna, had spoken

enthusiastically about Paganini's playing, and Ferdinando Paer, his composition teacher in Paris from 1823 had drawn his attention to the Caprices, the first French edition of which had been published by Richault around 1824 9

Musically, Paer certainly constitutes a vital link between

Paganini and Liszt.

Both - some twenty-seven years apart - had studied

&me reception accorded to Paganini's performance by the public, and the rapturous enthusiasm of the critics are described in: Neill, Edward, Paganjni il Cavaliere Filarmonico, Genoa: De Ferrari, 1990, pp. 215-218, 7Walker, Alan. Franz Liszt

The Man & his Music London' Barrie & Jenkins, 1976, p. 47.

8Czemy, Carl (1791-1857) (>Beethoven). Austrian pianist and pedagogue. A series of brilliant students passed through his hands, including Franz Liszt. In 1828, after hearing Paganini in Vienna Czemy wrote his Grandes variatiQns brjJJantes on a theme by Paganini which he dedicated to the great violinist [BN Vm12 G 940]. 9Paganini, Niccolo, 24 Caprjces QU Etudes pour Je ViolQn dedi!!s aux Artistes. ed, by Henry Auteur, Paris' Richault, c.1824.

29

composition with him and therefore shared the same traditional, solid training in theory and counterpoint.

This may in part explain Liszt's

remarkable receptivity to Paganini's ideas. Liszt seems to have assimilated Paganini's influence more rapidly and more easily than any other, including Berlioz's, Chopin's and Wagner's. However, it took him several years of work to achieve what he considered to be publishable results. Initiated in 1831, the transcription of the Caprices occupied Liszt until 1851, date of the publication of the final version entitled Grandes Etudes de Paganini transcrites pour le piano et dediees

a Clara

Schumann.I''

The three successive versions of

Caprice 1 offer a good example of this self-imposed task of musical translation. The evolution of Liszt's views about the same piece is of great interest. Here is Paganini original text:

~ ..

..

And here is Liszt's first transcription: Andan1e q1J.a3i 8lle~re}'D. • • • • •

(13t version, 1636)

ct. by},X,B,& A-I>C.

10Alfred Cortot, in his edition of the Paganini Etudes (Paris: Salabert, 1949), provides the following details: " ...Liszt specifie forrnellement que seule la version de ces etudes parue en 1851 sous le titre de Grandes Etudes de Paganjni traoscrites pour Ie piano doit etre consideree comme valable et munie de son approbation; celte restriction mettant implicitement en cause la collection des Etudes d'execution transcendante d'apres Paganini - dites egalement Grand es Etudes de brayoure esquissees des 1832et gravees en 1840- et, 11 fortiori, l'etonnante Grande Fantaisje d; Brayura sur la clocbetle de PaganjnL redigee en 1831 sous le coup de la foudroyante impression determinee par les concerts parisiens du violoniste-magicien et dont les exemplaires devenus rarissimes, portent la date de 1834."

30

The second version, generally considered unplayable, illustrates Liszt's juvenile ambition to "push back the frontiers of the unbelievable", "reculer

les limites de l'incroyable", as, according to a Parisian critic, Paganini had done:

(2nd I! II

..

version, 1838) -

II

i=

III

;; •

u

..

';; ir~' ~,I:: •

i • ..

~~ ... i1-" , ::a:~-.....

.. . . .. . . In the re-exposition in E minor, Liszt plays his trump card: the left hand introduces in counterpoint a quotation of Paganini's 24th Caprice:

p

leggiero

In the third (and final) version Liszt, returning to Paganini's original text, not only reproduced it practically note for note, but also adopted the violin notation on one stave:

31

"Viriuosiie transcendante"

Liszt attended several of Paganini's concerts between 1831-33, and, interestingly enough, with ever increasing enthusiasm. He also met Paganini in private circles on at least two occasions and had the opportunity to observe his playing at close quarters.U The commonly held belief that he had heard Paganini only on one occasion seems to be invalid. The often quoted letter Liszt wrote to Pierre Wolff of Geneva is dated 2 May 1832 and refers to the charity concert that Paganini gave at the Opera for the benefit of the victims of cholera on 22 April 1832, thus almost one year after he heard him for the first time: 12 "For the whole fortnight my mind and fingers have been working like two damned souls; Homer, the Bible, Plato, Locke, Byron, Hugo, Lamartine, Chateaubriand, Beethoven, Bach, Hummel, Mozart, Weber are all around me. I study them, meditate on them, devour them with fury; what is more, I practise four to five hours of exercises (thirds, sixths, octaves, tremolo, repeated notes, cadences, etc...) Ah! so long as I don't go mad, you will find an artist in me! Yes, an artist such as you ask for, such as we need today, "And I too am a painter!» exclaimed Michelangelo the first time he saw a masterpiece, Though insignificant and poor, your friend has not ceased to repeat the words of the great man ever since Paganini's last concert."13 [trl. PXBJ

When he wrote this letter, Liszt was working on the first version of his 11At a soiree given by the music publisher Troupenas and also in the salons of the Baron de Rothschild (see: Neill, Edward, op. cit., p. 216; and Revue Musicale de Suisse Romande, N°2, June 1993, p.81). 12It has been have erroneously suggested that this letter referred to the concert of 9 March 1831. 13" Void quinze jours que mon esprit et mes doigts travaillent comme deux damnes: Homere, la Bible, Platon, Locke, Byron, Hugo, Lamartine, Chateaubriand, Beethoven, Bach, Hummel, Mozart, Weber sont tous a l'entour de moi, Je les etudie, les medite, les devore avec fureur; de plus, je travaille quatre a cinq heures d'exercices (tierces, sixtes, octaves, tremolos, notes repetees, cadences, etc.) Ah! Pourvu que je ne devienne pas fou, tu retrouveras un artiste en moi. Oui, un artiste tel que tu les demandes, tel qu'il en faut aujourd'hui. «Et moi aussi je suis peintre», s'ecria Michel-Ange la premiere fois qu'il vit un chef-d'eeuvre.; Quoique petit et pauvre. ton ami ne cesse de repeter les paroles du grand homme depuis la derniere representation de Paganini. " La Mara (editor), Franz Li,zts Briefe, Leipzig, 1893-1905, vol. I, p.7, Letter to Pierre WoUf of 2 May, 1832.

32

Paganini Studies which he entitled Etudes d'Execution Transcendante d'apres Paganini.

"Transcendental virtuosity" was the expression he forged to define

the new world of musical invention and freedom which Paganini's violin had revealed to him.

Trans-scendere, i.e, go beyond, surmount or pass through.

As Jeffrey Pulver writes: "Liszt was under no illusions as to the provenance of Paganini's facile perfection....And that he realized how literally the soul had to pass through the fires of purgatory before it conquered the difficulties that beset its passage, is shown in the words he wrote to a friend: 'What a man! what a violin, what an artist! Heavens! What suffering and misery, what tortures in those four strings!'.J4

After the Etudes d'Execution Transcendante of Liszt, a steady stream of compositions, directly or indirectly influenced by Paganini, was produced. This movement, initiated by Thalberg, Chopin, Schumann and Liszt, can be traced through Felix Mendelssohn, Clara Wieck, Hector Berlioz, Henri Vieuxtemps, Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst, Johannes Brahms, Claude Debussy, Ferruccio Busoni, Maurice Ravel, Francis Poulenc, Darius Milhaud, Karol Szymanowski, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Arnold Schoenberg, to contemporary composers such as Witold Lutoslawski, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Manuel Rosenthal, Vaclav Kucera, George Rochberg, Luigi Dallapiccola, Salvatore Sciarrino, and Alfred Schnittke.

All have drawn inspiration from the

Caprices, bearing witness to the "gem-like qualities" recognised by Schumann. Each of them, in his or her own way, has contributed to perpetuate Paganini's artistic legacy.

14Pulver,Jeffrey, Paganjnj, the Romantic Virtuoso New-York: Da Capo Press, 1970, p. 216, Pulver's quotation is also taken from the letter to Pierre Wolff of 2 May 1832 ("Quel homme, quel violcn, quel artiste! Dieu, que de souffrances, de rnisere, de tortures dans ces quatre cordes!"], See Chapter 4, p.ll8.

33

GenealQgy 1733: Locatelli, I' Arte del Yiolino

1820: Paganini, 24 Capricc; per Violino dedicati alIi Artisti 1829: Chopin, Souvenir de Paganjoj 1831: Hummel, Souvenirs de Paganini 1833: Schumann. Studieo Djr das Pianoforte nach Capricen yon Paganini.op.3

1833: Chopin, 12 ttudes. op.10 1835: Schumann, 6 Concert-Eruden compan;rt nach Capricen von Paganini. op.10 1838: Liszt, first version of the Grandes Etudes de Paganini 1838: Mendelssohn, sketch of the Violin Concerto. op.64 1840: Berlioz, Romeo et Juliette (dedicated to Paganini) 1841: Liszt, etudes d'ExecutioD TraDscendante d'apres Paganjni

1846: Vieuxtemps, Hommage a Paganini. op.s 1851: Schumann, Piano accompaniment to the Caprices 1851: Liszt, Grandes Etudes de Paganjnj traoscrites pour Ie piano 1854: Ernst, The "Erlking", Grand Caprice gp.26. (a la rnemoire de Schubert et Paganini) 1862: Brahms, Paganjnj-Varjalionen. op.35 1865: Ernst, 6 PglJWhgnicStudies 1909: Busoni, Intrgduzjgne e Capriccig [in the fascicle An die Jugend] (cap.ll&15) 1910: Liapounow, 12 Etudes d'Executign Transcendaole pgur Ie piang. op.ll 1918: Szymanowski, Three Paganinj Caprjces (violin and piano) 1924: Ravel, Tzigane 1925: Ysaye, Paganini Yarialigns 1927: Milhaud, Trois Caprices de Paganjni traites en duos CODcertants

1935: Castelouovo-Tedesco, Caprjccig djabglicg (Omaggio a Paganini) 1940: Rachmaninoff, Rhapsgdie sur un theme de PaganinLop.43 (piano et orchestra) 1941: Lutoslawski.wariaqe na temat Paganinjegg .(two pianos) 1942: Dallapiccola, Sgnatina cangnica su Cappcci di Paganinj (piano) 1942: Casella, Pagan;njana (for orchestra) 1947: 1954: 1970: 1974:

Blacher, Variatigns pgur Orchestre [on the theme of the 24th Caprice] Milstein, Paganjnjana (Violin) Rochberg, Caprice Variatigns (violin) Berio, Seqyenza yrn (violin)

1976: Sciarrino, 6 Capricei per Yigling (violin) 1978: Gasser, Paganinj-Yariatignen (piano) 1980: Pietro Grossi, a computer version of the 24 Caprices 1982: Vaclav Kucera, Capriccia prg hgysJe a kytary (hommage i\ Paganini) 1983: Schnittke, A Paganini per violino solo

34

CHAPTER II "ALLI ARTISTI"

INTERPRETATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF AN HISTORIC DEDICATION

The title page of the autograph manuscript of the Caprices handed in to the Milanese publisher Giovanni Ricordi around 1817 bears the following inscriptions:

No. 24 Capricci per Violino di Niccoli'! Paganini Dedicati alli Artisti

The dedication "to the Artists" which also appears on the front cover of the 1 first Ricordi edition was in itself an innovation. While certain works may in the past have been dedicated to a fellow-composer or a friend, the usual practice was to dedicate compositions to noblemen or noble ladies, to aristocratic patrons, to Dukes, Princes, Kings, or Emperors. Earlier in his his career, Paganini too had complied with this usage - although perhaps less effusively than his predecessors - and had dedicated a few pieces to Elise Baciocchi and to her imperial brother (e.g. the Napoleon Sonata for the G string).2 1This dedication is regrettably missing in many modern editions of the Caprices. However, the front cover of Dounis's edition (London, the Strad, 1949) bears the inscription, in English:"Twenty-four Caprices for Volin solo dedicated to the Artists", whereas E. Neill, in the introduction of his Urlexl -edition (Milan, Ricordi,1988) not only mentions and comments on the dedication, but also inserts a photostat of the title page of Paganini's manuscript. 2[M.S. 5] Written for Napoleon's birthday (25 August 1807)

35

AlIi Artisii" marks the emergence of the artist as an independent, significant

member of society. Such a dedication would probably have been inconceivable before 1800 in Italy and at the time of the publication of the Caprices it still appeared provocative.v

Titlepage of the 1820 Ricordi edition [Milan Conservatorium Library A,26./19.46]

Paganini's perception of the role of the artist was lucid, that is both idealistic and pragmatic. With the benefit of hindsight, it appears that he contributed, perhaps more than any other performing composer of his time, to the elevation of the status of the "artisia", Aristocratic patronage was progressively disappearing and the artists alluded to in the dedication belonged to a new class of musicians: free-lance soloists who derived their livelihoods from playing their own music before paying audiences in concert halls of ever-increasing dimensions. Beethoven had entertained very high and romantic views about the mission of the musician as a free artist - a kind of Promethean figure in society. However, for the majority, the reality was not so exalting. In fact, the concept of the independent musician, of the free artist, had been born out of necessity, since a secure, financially tenable position under the old patronage system had become a rarely available option. Now that livelihood depended more and more upon public success, artistic freedom was endangered by the constraints of public demand. While the demands of the new public were different from those made before on the church or court-musician, they did not prove less restrictive than the patronage of any prince. The "liberated composer" was confronted with a new dilernna: for whom was he going to write his music? For himself and an enlightened circle of connoisseurs? For posterity? Or for the public whose approval meant - if not artistic - at least financial independence? Paganini's 350mething similar happened in literature with Diderol's famous novel and its -at that time - rather provocative title: Jacqyes Ie Fataliste (et son maitre). published in France in 1796.

36

unrestricted answer reveals commitment to his art coupled with a fine psychological understanding of his listeners' need. For the public at large, which was "clamouring for something new and surprising",4 he wrote works in mezzo carattere styleS (variations with orchestra, "pots-pourris", variations on a single string, etc.), providing to a supreme degree technical innovation, dazzling feats of virtuosity and brilliance. Another body of work, the most important quantitatively and by far the least known, was in the form of quartets, trios duets, chamber music with guitar, i.e. music for friends, students and amateurs, to be played en [amille. It is a very engaging side of Paganini's personality that he would frequently join in private circles with non-professional musicians for the sheer enjoyment of playing. And not simply his own music, for he had a marked predilection for the works of Mozart and Beethoven. However, as Henry Raynor perceptively remarks, " ...he had to keep his devotion to Beethoven's concerto and chamber music out of sight, for such music would not have given him any occasion for the pyrotechnics his audience expected.,,6

To his colleagues, the professional musicians or Artisti, he dedicated the 24 Caprices, confronting them with a doubly challenging proposition: high instrumental virtuosity had become a necessity to achieve public success, but, it could and should also be a tool for greater artistic achievements. The expression "Alii Artisti" was employed not only in contrast to "AIle Amairici" (to the Amateurs)? While the term "Artisii" implied the conventional distinction between amateurs and professionals, it did not mean that the dedication addressed all the professional musicians. The"Artists" of the Caprices were those among composers and performers who were willing to go further into the arcanum of art. Alfred Cortot once very pointedly illustrated the issue saying that the Paganini Caprices, like the Chopin 'Etudes or Liszt's Transcendental Studies "are inaccessible to the musician without virtuosity as they are to the virtuoso without musicianship.vs 4paganini's words. See Schottky, lulius.Paganjni's Leben uod Trejben. Vaduz: Sandig Reprint, 1974, p.275 SMusica di mezzo carattere: music the style of which is part-serious part-comic. The term finds its origin in operatic parlance but is also applied to instrumental music, especially for works influenced by the operatic style. 6Raynor, Henry. A Social Hjstoey of Music. New-York: Schocken Books, 1972, p. 354. 7The quartets with guitar op.4 and Op. 5 which were published the same year as the Caprices bear the dedication" Alle Amairici", SBoss, Roger (e-Cortot), Conyersations with P B . St-Blaise, [une 1994.

37

The Courtier It may be remembered here that Paganini had experienced the life of a court

musician.

For almost seven years he had been at the service of Princess Elise

Baciocchi, (sister of Napoleon I), Duchess of Piombino and Lucca.

In 1805,

Paganini had been appointed to her court at Lucca, first as a member of the orchestra (2nd desk), later as a quartet leader and teacher of Prince Felix Baciocchi 9. The relationship between the young violinist and his patrons (Princess Elise and her husband) seems to have been much less formal than was usual at other European courts of comparative size and importance. Unlike Liszt, he never became embittered by the social prejudices of the day, and in his youth he readily accepted being "un musicien aux gagesdes grands seigneurs, patroniseet salariepar eux 11 I' ega! d'un jongleur"10

His personality certainly protected Paganini from "the insolence of the great".l1

However, many years later, he admitted that he had to suffer "many a vexation" while he was in Elise's service l 2. This was 'probably in

relation to the curtailment of certain of his liberties at court. There were numerous occasions when he had to "ask permission". For example, to give a private ball at the house of his friends, the Bucchianeris, he had to apply six weeks in advance)3 Moreover, his duties at court did not always fulfil his artistic aspirations. Music to order, ("Gebrauchsmusik" or utility music as it is called), was performed once, and then put away and forgotten. The quality and style of such music depended often as much on the patron as on the composer.

Two documents are worthy of mention here, for they constitute

9Felix [Pasquale] Baciocchi came from an old Genoese family. Napoleon made him change his Christian name, apparently because "Pasquale", in the language of Italian comic opera, had a negative connotation. l°Liszt's phrase (quoted by G. de Courcy, op. cit., vol. I, p.19). 11 Paganini liked to say:"I grandi non temo, gli umili non sdegno. ", and often wrote this motto as a accompanying note to musical autographs and portraits. 12Harrys, George, Paganini in seinen redseligen Stunden ;n geseUschaftliscben ZirkeJn und seinen Konzerten Brunswick, F. Vieweg, 1830. 13$ee: G. de Courcy, op.cit., vol.I, p.107.

38

not only a valuable - and colourful - account of the life at court, but also offer a better understanding of the kind and extent of Paganini's professional duties at that time. The first of them is in Paganini's own words: "1 had to conduct every time the royal family went to the opera, play three times a week at court, and every fortnight give a big concert at the formal soirees, but Princess Elise did not always attend or else did not remain all through the concert, because my music placed too great a strain on her nerves. However, another charming lady who was attracted to me -or at least so it seemed- never missed them, while 1 had admired her for a long time. Our interest in each other gradually increased, but had to be concealed, which only intensified it. One day 1promised her a surprise at the next concert - a little musical prank having reference to our relations. At the same time 1 announced to the court an amusing novelty entitled "Scena Amorosa". Everyone was very curious till I finally appeared with my violin, from which I had removed the two inner strings, leaving only the E and the G strings. The first string represented the girl, the second the man, and I then began a sort of dialogue depicting little quarrels and reconciliations between my two lovers. The strings first scolded, then sighed, moaned, joked, expressed delight, and finally ecstasy. It concluded with a reconciliation and the lovers performed a pas de deux, closing with a brilliant coda ... The "Scena Amorosa" received great applause. The lady for whom it was intended rewarded me with the most friendly glances; as for the Princess, she was extremely gracious, overwhelming me with compliments and at last saying: "Since you have already performed something so beautiful on two strings, couldn't you let us hear something on one string?" I at once consented, the idea appealing to my fancy, and since the Emperor's birthday occurred a few weeks later [25 August 1807),1 wrote the Napoleon Sonata for the G string, which I then played before the assembled court with such applause that a Cimarosa cantata that immediately followed was thrown completely into the shade and made no impression whatsoever..14 [tr!. de Courey] 14"Ich,begann er, spielte zu Lucca, wo ich jedesmal die Oper zu dirigiren hatte, wenn die regierende Pamilie das Theater besuchte, jede Woche dreirnal bei Hofe, und veranstaltete aile vierzehn Tage bei den feierlichen Zirkeln ebeefalls ein groBes Concert, wobei aber die regierende Piirstin Elisa Bacciochi, Prinzess von Lucca und Piombino, Napoleon's geliebteste Schwester, nicht jedesmal erschien oder bis an den SchluB ausharrte, wei! die Flageolet-Tone meiner Violine ihre Nerven zu sehr erschutterten, Dagegen aber fehlte niemals eine andere liebeswiirdige Dame (er nannte sie), die sich, so wiihnte ich wenigstens, zu mir hingezogen fuhlte, wahrend ich sie schon Hingstbewunderte. Unsere gegenseitige Neigung befestigte sich allmalig irnmer mehr, mullte aber verborgen gehalten werden, wodurch sie an Innigkeit und Interessanten Beziehungen zunahm. Eines Tages versprach ich ihr: sie am nachsten Concerttage durch einen musikalischen Scherz zu uberraschen, der auf unser Verhaltnis Bezug haben solle; zugleich kiindigte ich bei Hofe eine komische Neuigkeit an, der ich den Titel "Liebesscene"gab. Man war auf die sonde-bare Erscheinung sehr gespannt, bis ich endlich mit meiner Violine erschien, der ich die beiden mittlem Saiten genommen hatte, so dall nur E nd G geblieben waren. Die erste Saite liell ich das Madchen, die zweite den Mann reprasennren, und begann nun eine Art Dialog vorzutragen, worin leiehte Streit- und Versohnungsscenen eines Liebespaares angedeutet werden sollten. Die Saiten mullten bald grollen, bald seufzen, sie mullten lispeln, stohnen, scherzen, sich freuen und endlich jubein. Zuletzt ist die Versohnung wieder geschlossen und die Neuvereinten fiihren ein Pas dedeux auf, was mit einer brillanten Coda schliellt. Diese musikalische Scene fand groBen Beifall; die Dame, der das Ganze eigentlich gegolten, belohnte mich mit den freunschaftlichsten Blicken; die Fiirstin aber war

39

In 1809, the young Jacques Boucher de Perthes 15was on duty in the French

customs office in Leghorn, from where he wrote to his father: "Prince Baciocchi is an enthusiastic amateur of the vioiin.

We play quartets together. A

Genoese by the name of Paganini plays first violin in the quartets and also plays the guitar ... "16

At the end of the same year, Paganini is again alluded to in Boucher de Perthes's correspondence: Letter to the Chamberlain [Florence], December 25, 1809.

"Yes, I declare before heaven and hell that lowe my obesity to the royal dinners that we had with the Prince and to the bad quartets that followed, for one does not preclude the other, and one can be the pearl of men and even the pearl of princes - as the maestro di cappella Paganini says - and have the pearl of chefs without being the pearl of vio1inists... Paganini is also a royal highness in his way and, if he would only cut up fewer capers and renounce the role of grand clown of the vio1inists, he would be the grand duke, even the emperor, and could exclaim like another virtuoso: 'I'd rather be the emperor of the vioiin than the vioiin of the emperor!' Do you know why this chap pleased me so much right from the start? Was it because of his violin, his guitar, his esprit, his originality? Not at all! It is because he is so thin! His being so dreadfully skinny consoled me and when I carefully took him all in, I seemed to be almost corpulent. Further, when he plays and draws that enormous volume of tone from his instrument, I have to ask myself whether it's him or his instrument I'm hearing; I'm inclined to think it's him. Certainly he's the drier of the two and when he comes anywhere near the fire I'm always afraid that he'll catch on fire, for please take note, his very members crackle! Therefore, always have a pail of water handy. My compliments to you, to him, and to all the quartet."17 [trl. de Courey] voll Huld, iiberschiittete mich mit Lob spriichen und meinte endlich: "Da Sie bereits auf zwei Saiten so etwas Schones leisteten, ware es Ihnen denn nicht moglich, uns auf Einer etwas horen zu lassen?" Ich sagte augenblicklich zu, der Gedanke regte meine Phantasie an, und da einige Wochen darauf des Kaisers Namenstag einfiel, schrieb ich eine Sonate: "Napoleon" bezeichnet fiir die G-Saite, welche ich dann vor dem versammelten Hofe mit solchen Applause spielte, daB eine an demselben Abend unmittelbar darauf gegebene Cantate von Cimarosa dadurch geschlagen wurde und keinen Effekt hervorbringen wollte." Schottky,Julius Max. Paganini's Leben und Trejben als Klinstler und als Menscb,Prague: J.C. Calve, 1830,pp. 365-367,quoted by G. de Courcy in her own English translation, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 99-100. 15Jacques Boucher de Perthes (1788-1868), French economist and archeologist, known as "the father of the prehistory of man". 16G. de Courcy op.cit., vol I, p. 107-108 17"0ui, je le declare II la face du del et de la terre, c'est II vous prindpalement que je dois rna graisse, par sulte des royaux dejeuners que nous faisons avec Ie prince, voire meme Ies mauvais quatuor qui les suivaient, car I'un n'empeche pas I'autre, et I'on peut etre la perle des hommes et meme des princes, comme dit it maestro di cappella Paganini, et avoir la perle des cuisiniers, sans etre Ia perle des violons...Paganini est aussi une aitesse dans son genre; et quand il voudra faire moins de charges et renoncer II I'honneur d'etre Ie grand paillasse des violons, il en sera Ie

40

Paganini certainly felt more and more constrained in his artistic pursuits as well as in his personal life: in 1812, he decided to free himself from his duties at court and to become an independent artist.

Much has been written about the incident which led to his rupture with Elise18. Was the Grand Duchess "growing too old to attract him on sentimental grounds", as certain

biographers insinuate?19 him a safe asylum?20

Was her court becoming too unstable to afford

His longing for freedom and artistic fulfilment is

probably the answer: "Libertas optima rerum" as he frequently quoted... Now, as a freelance musician he felt that he had full liberty to write and to perform music according to his own artistic criteria (e.g. the twenty-four Caprices).

At

the court of Lucca, considerations other than purely artistic ones might have influenced the elaboration of some of his compositions.

In the Caprices, there

would be no place for complacency or compromise: "Alii Artisti" reveals his ambition to present his fellow musicians (the Artists) with a work of genuine musical significance and artistic integrity. As Robert Schumann remarked: "With this charmingly brief dedication, Paganini probably wanted to say: «I am accessible only to artists»." 21

grand-due, voire meme l'empereur, et il pourra s'ecrier conune certain virtuose: j'aime mieux etre l'empereur des violons que Ie violon de rempereur! Savez-vous pourquoi ce garcon-la rn'a plu tout d'abord? Est-ce par son violon, sa guitare, son esprit, son originalite-s- Non, c'est par sa maigreur. En Ie voyant si admirablement etique, son aspect me consolait, et quand je l'avais bien considers, je me trouvais presque gras. Aussi quand il joue et tire de son instrument cet immense volume de son, je suis a me demander si c'est lui au son violon qui resanne? [e croirais assez que c'est lui, certainement, il est Ie plus sec des deux, et rna peur, quand il s'approche du feu, est de Ie voir voler en eclats, car alors, remarquez-Ie bien, ses membres craquent. Tenez done toujours un sceau d'eau a portee, Mes compliments a vall', a lui, a tout Ie quatuor,' Jacques Boucher de Perthes, Sous djx Rpjs, Paris: Jung Treuttel, 1863, vol.I, P: 583-584.; quoted by G. de Courcy in her own English translation, op. cit., vol, I, p. 108. 18For the details of his "insubordination", see Fetis, p.37-38 19See: Bargellini, Sante. "Paganini and the Princess", in: The Musical Quarterly XX/4 (October 1934), pp.40B-418. 2° In 1812, things were not going too well for Elise's brother. Napoleon's seizure of Oldenburg caused Alexander to put his army on alert; in June, the French army crossed the Niemen; in September Borodino was fought; then came the flames of Moscow and the retreat that began too late: "Mon mauuais genie m'apparut et m'annon,a rna fin, que i'ai trouvee il l'ile d'Elbe..... 21"Paganini wollte dies wahl auch mit seiner schon kurzen Dedikation "agli Artisti.. ausdrucken, d.h. nur fur Kunstler bin ich zuganghch". Schumann, Robert. Gesammelte Scbr;ften libe< Musil< und Musiker, Berlin: Wegweiser Verlag, 1922,p. 254.

41

L' CEuvre-Manifeste ,

There have been through the ages a number of musical manifestos in the form of written declarations by composers who felt the need to justify their music or their views on musical philosophy. One could mention for example L'Essai sur l'Origine des Langues of Rousseau (1760), in which the author defends the idea that song existed before the language of words; Gluck's Preface to Alceste (1767), a eulogy of simplicity in music; Hanslick's Vom Musikalisch-Schonen (1854); Pratella's Manifesto dei Musicisti Futuristi (1910); Marinetti's

A bas Ie tango et Parsifal (1914), a pamphlet directed against

Wagner and his opera Parsifal (defined as "une fabrique cooperative de

tristesse et de desespoir")l; the Manifeste de la Jeune France (1936), in which Messiaen, Daniel-Lesur, [olivet and Baudrier declare that they will follow in Berlioz's steps; Schonberg's Satires (1925); Charles Ives's prolix Essay before a Sonata (1947); Boulez's provocative Schonberg is dead (1952); Texier's Manifeste de musique architecturale (1977). However, of much more lasting significance and impact than these texts are the works that the French musicologist Daniele Pistone has called CEuvres-manifestes such as the Eroica Symphony. the Rite of Spring. Pelleas. and indeed the 24 Caprices. These are works of grand and novel inspiration, which need no preface or appendix, no further declaration or justification than their sheer musical content and power of evocation. The CEuvres-manifestes, an ideal manifestation of art, have capacity not only to express ideas, emotions, to captivate the senses, but also to address the imagination, astonish, take the listener by surprise. "L'art a une fonction de rupture" says film-maker Emma Politti. 2 This is la valeur contestataire de l'art alluded to by Daniele Pistone in her hopeful - if aporetic conclusion of her brilliant Dossier Manifestes et Musique en France: "If the questioning, indeed challenging value of art, this futuristic instrument, and if the spontaneous force of affirmation of music had sheltered it forever from restheticising theoretical supports?"3 {trl.PXB J

1 "a co-operative factory of sadness and despair" 2politti, Emma, Interview on Espace 2, Geneva: Radio Suisse Romande, June 1994. ["Cart a une fonction de rupture - intellectuelle, geographique, politique..."]. 3"Et si la valeur contestataire de l'art, cet instrument «futurible», et si la force d'affirmation spontanee de la musique I'avait mise definitivement 11 I'abri des appuis theoriques esthetisantsz'Pistone, Daniele. "Manifeste et Musique en France", in: Revue Internationale de Musique Francaise, N°20,June 1986,p.39.

42

An early Romantic Manifesto

But no genuinely creative artist would wish to have the last word: the dedication alii Artisti was an invitation to share compositional and violinistic discoveries and to further explore a new musical dimension. Their enthusiastic reception by leading figures of musical Romanticism shows that the Caprices pioneered novel artistic and compositional approaches.

Their

strong creative impact on composers is a major point of interest for the present study. The Caprices may have had a paralysing effect on some violinists who considered them "unplayable", but certainly not on creative artists, On the contrary, they gave tremendous stimulus to many Romantic composers whose interest was aroused by the technical challenge and the prospective application of virtuosity as a compositional tool not per se but rather as a means to achieve greater freedom of invention and artistic expression.

It is precisely

because of the unique inspirational quality and liberating implications of the 24 Caprices that Russian musicologist Israil M. Yampolski sees in Paganini one of the initiators of the Romantic movement in music: "Created at the dawn of the 19th century, the Caprices marked the beginning of a new trend in instrumental music and performance. Later, Victor Hugo, in a similar way, set the eesthetical principles of Romanticism in literature by his famous foreword to the Cromwell drama.',4 [trl. I. Kortchnof

Other authors have linked the names of Victor Hugo and Paganini: one could mention for example Georges de Saint-Foix who compares the effect of 4 "3Tl-IM npOlOse.neHweM, C03.llaHHbIM xa sape

HOBoro

XIX aexa, naratUIHH nOJlO)f(HJlI1a.1UJlO

pOMaHTH4ecKoMy HanpaBJleHJ.uo B HHcTpYMeHTaJlbHO~ My3blKe H loiCnOJlHTeJ1bCTBe,

nonoeao TOMY, KaK

noaznree rlOro CBOHM

ecrernuecxae npHHUHnbJ

3HaMeHHTblM npellHCJJOBHeM K ,llpaMe 'XpOMseJrb", yTBep.aHJ1

JlHTepaTypHoro pOMaHTH3Ma."

["Etim proizvedeniem, sozdannim na zare novogo XIX veka,

Paganini polosi! nachalo romanticheskomy napravleniu v instrumental'noi muzike i ispolnitel'stve, podobno tomu, kak pozdnee Gugo svoim znamenitim predisloviem k drame "Kromvel", utverdi! eststecheskie prinsipi literatumogo romantizma."] Mostras, Konstantin G. 24 Kaprisa dla skripki solo N. PaganinL Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe Muzikal'noe Izdatel'stvo 1959, p.3 (I.M. Yampolski's preface). I am indebted to Mr Igor Kortchnoi of Geneva for his translation of the preface and to Dr Michai! Negnevitsky of Hobart for kindly proof-reading the final version.

43

Paganini's concerts with that of the first performance of Hernani: "We are rather surprised that the historians of this Romanticism, always so rich and so difficult to place, haven't thought to include Paganini amongst its most authentic representatives. We shall not hesitate to compare the concerts given by the astounding artist at the height of the cholera epidemic of 1832 (which the best known leunes Frances could not fail to have attended, and to have proclaimed a miracle) to something which very closely resembles the premiere of Hernani. S[tr!. PXB & L.O.] H

Both parallels are thought-provoking.

Of special interest is Yampolski's

proposition that the Caprices - with their dedication "AIli Artisti"constituted a sort of early manifesto of musical Romanticism. There is also the implication that ideas developed later by Victor Hugo in the Preface de Cromwell (1827) and in the Preface des Orientales (1829) were in some way already embodied in Paganini's music. The problem is of challenging importance because it raises the issue of the possibility of rendering in words the intellectual and emotional implications of music (syneesthesia).

Here, an

answer can only be speculative since Paganini never attempted any written justification of his work. The laconic inscription "Alli Artisti" only implicitly signals his perception of his role as a musician and the novelty of his artistic approach. Be that as it may, several passages of the Preface des Orientales in which Hugo Vigorously defends freedom in Art are congenial with Paganini's philosophy: "The poet is free. Let's put ourselves in his shoes and let's see. The author insists upon these \

ideas, however obvious they may seem, because a number of Arisiarques still do not admit them as such. He himself, however small a place he holds in contemporary literature, has been the victim of the critics' misjudgement. It often happened that instead of simply telling him: 'Your book is bad', he has been told: 'Why did you write this book? Don't you see that the theme is horrible, grotesque, absurd (whatever!) and that the topic oversteps the limits of art? That's not pretty, that's not gracious. Why don't you treat subjects which please us and appeal to us? 5 "...Nous nous etonnons volontiers que les historiens de ce romantisme, toujours si riche et si di£ficile 11 situer, n'aient pas songe 11 faire figurer Paganini parmi ses plus authentiques representants. Nous n'hesiterons pas 11 comparer les concerts donnes par I'etonnant artiste, en pleine epidemie du cholera de 1832;oil les «Jeunes Frances» les plus en vue n'ont pu manquer . d'assister et de crier au miracle, 11 quelque chose qui ressemble furieusement 11 la premiere d'Hernani.;" Georges de Saint-Foix, preface to: Paganini 11 Marseille 1837-1839. by Berenger de Mirarnon Fitz-james, Marseille: it la Librairie Fueri, 1841, p.6.

44

What strange caprices you've got there! etc.ietc.

To which he has always firmly replied: that

these caprices were his caprices, that he did not know of what the limits of Art consist, that he did not know the precise geography of the intellectual world, that he had not yet seen the road maps of art, with the frontiers of the possible and of the impossible drawn in red and blue; that, in the end, he had done it because he simply did it:'6

[trl. PXBl

. A little later, Hugo gives a definition of the poet which is an apt description of Paganini: ..... the poet, man of fantasy and of caprice, but also of conviction and probity:'7

The subversive element in Paganini's compositional style and instrumental playing In rendering previous constraints impotent, the creative artist is engaged in

what can be seen as a subversive role. Paganini's redefinition of violin technique, his trespassing beyond conventional limits (those dictated by the Schools, not by the tradition) led him to redefine the laws of instrumental virtuosity (in the words of Franz Liszt, transcendent virtuosity). In his first years of study, Paganini had shown some reluctance to follow instructions and rules Ii la lettre. He had a compelling need to work out things in his own way and he must have proved a thorn in the side of his teacher, Giacomo Costa: 6"Lepoete est libre, Mettons-nous ason point de vue, et voyons, L'auteur insiste sur ces idees, si evidentes qu'elles paraissent, parce qu'un certain nombre d'Aristarques n'en est pas encore ales admettre pour telles. Lui-zneme, si peu de place qu'il tienne dans la Iitterature contemporaine, il a ete plus d'une fois I'objet de ces meprises de la critique. Il est advenu souvent qu'au lieu de lui dire simplement : Votre livre est mauvais, on lui a dit: Pourquoi avez-vous fait ce livre? Pourquoi ce sujet? Ne voyez-vous pas que l'idee premiere est horrible, grotesque, absurde (n'irnportel), et que Ie sujet chevauche hors des limites de I'art? Cela n'est pas [oli, cela n'est pas gracieux. Pourquoi ne point traiter des sujets qui nous plaisent et nous agreent? les etranges caprices que vous avez la! etc., etc. Aquoi il a toujours fermement repondu: que ces caprices etaient ses caprices; qu'iJ ne savait pas en quoi etaient faites les limites de l'art, .que de geographie precise du monde intellectuel il n'en connnaissait point, qu'il n'avait point encore vu de cartes routiere de l'art, avec les frontieres du possible et de l'irnpossible, tracees en rouge et en bleu ; qu'enfin iJ avait fait cela, parce qu'll avait fait cela..."] es Orientales. Paris: Hetzel, 1829, preface, p.2. 7.....Ie poete, homme de fantaisie et de caprice, mais aussi de conviction et de probite'' (ibid.p.6).

45

" 1 think back with pleasure on the painstaking interest of good Costa [Paganini told Schottky], to whom, however 1 was no great delight since his principles often seemed unnatural to me, and 1 showed no inclination to adopt his bowing".8 [trl. PXBj

His independent and exploring spirit compelled him to constantly experiment in the area of instrumental technique: "I was enthusiastic about my instrument and studied it constantly in order to discover new and hitherto unprecedented positions which would give a sonority that would astound people.?

There is undoubtedly an element of the provocative in Paganini's approach, in his desire to astonish, to bewilder. his listeners.

As a performer and

consummate showman, he seems to have developed special techniques deliberately calculated strategies - to induce temporary suspension of judgement, and to maximise the receptiveness of his audience to his music. The profound silence he obtained (even in crowded halls) was legendary and made a great impression on music critics who often mentioned it: "They listened so intently that the necessary beating of their hearts disturbed and angered them."lO

It is striking that the more illustrious his listeners, the more enthralled they

seemed to become. They sometimes seemed to be lost in astonishment, with their rational faculties temporarily suspended. In the cases of Schumann and Liszt already mentioned, the effect was akin to some kind of mystic revelation. The eighty-year old Goethe, after having heard Paganini in Weimar (October 8 "...Mit Vergniigen errinere ich mich an die Sorgfalt des guten Costa, dem ich jedoch insofern kein sonderliches Vergniigen machen mochte, als mir seine Gesetze nicht selten widernatiirlich erschienen, und ich keine Lust bezeigte, seine Bogenfiihrung zu der meinigen zu machen.": Schottky, op.cit., p. 253. g"Ero entusiasta dello strumento e studiavo senza posa... per scoprire posizioni del tutto nuove e no mai vedute, che dessero senorita da far stupire la gente" ibid. P: 250. 10Ludwig Boerne, the Francfort correspondent in Paris, writing about Paganini's concert at the Opera de Paris, on 9 March 1831. Boerne, a former physician, was regarded as the ideological leader of the movement known as "Junge Deutschland". His Letters from Paris are important contemporary documents.

46

30, 1829) was extremely troubled, and it took him some time before he could "arrive at an intelligent estimate of all these wonders": "Now I too have heard Paganini...As regards what is generally called enjoyment - and which in my case always hovers between sensuality and reason - I lack a basis for this column-like eruption of flames and clouds. I only heard something meteoric and then could not account for it further.',l1 [trl. PXB J

Paganini's extraordinariness both as a man and as a performer was noted also by Mary Shelley: "Paganini threw me into hysterics. I delight in him more than I can express - his wild ethereal figure, rapt look - and the sounds he draws from his instrument are all superhuman"12

Wilhelm Speyer 13 , who had been a pupil of Baillot in Paris, attended Paganini's first concerts in Germany: "And now to give you my impressions of Paganini, I heard him first at rehearsal, then in several concerts, and last of all in a private company where he played Beethoven's F Major sonata with a lady. Although I was keyed up to the very highest expectations, the first impression in the rehearsal was that I had never heard anything like that in my life. Frey, from Mannheim, who sat alongside me swam in a sea of tears. The mysterious dusk of the stage, the remarkable personality of this man, the unusual enthusiasm of the orchestra, which broke every minute in a stormy flourish of trumpets, all these things may very well have heightened the sensitivity of the nerves. But the main thing - his playing, his interpretation, even his musical tricks, the astounding ease and perfection with which he performed the difficulties (incomprehensible especially to a violinist) aroused the greatest admiration. The cantabile passages and the Adagio he sings in a melancholy, deeply moving and albeit eloquent way such as I have never heard from any instrumentalist - about as I heard Crescentini sing fifteen years ago in paris.',14[trl.G. de Courcy] l1"Paganini hab ich denn auch gehtirt...Mir fehlt zu dem, was man Genuss nennt und was bei mir immer zwischen Sinnlichkeit und Verstand schwebt, eine Basis zu dieser Flarnmen und Woikensaule... ich horte nur etwas Meteorisches und wusste mir weiter keine Rechenschaft zu geben."Goethe, Letter to Zeiter. 9 November 1829, Goethes Briefwechsel mit ZeIter, Leipzig, 1924, p.41S. 12Shelley, Mary. I etter to Mrs Gisborne (quoted by de Courcy, op.cit..vol.Il, p.55) 13Speyer, Wilhelm, (1790-1878) (e-Baillot), violinist and composer. 14Speyer, Wilhelm, Letter to Louis Spohr. September 17, 1829 (quoted by De Courcy in her English trl. , op.cit., vol.I, 350-351).

47

And Honore de Balzac: "...The Napoleon of the genre ...What is the secret of artistic creation? What might have been the trajectory of the force which animates this puny, sickly man? And this strength, where did it come from? The most extraordinary miracle that surprises me at the present time is the one that Paganini knows how to perform. Don't believe that it is a matter of bowing, of fingering, or the fantastic sounds he draws from his violin...There is without doubt something mysterious in this man.."15 [trl, PXBj

Paganini's extraordinary hold on the imagination of his listeners extended to the members of the orchestra who not infrequently stopped playing in amazement and grouped themselves on the stage to watch the Maestro's solo performance: "I saw him play only once, at his first concert at the former Paris Grand Opera. The whole orchestra, composed of great artists, led by the illustrious Habeneck, were so dumbfounded, astounded by what they heard, that, one by one, they all stopped playing for a moment: silence from the orchestra and all the faces raised in genuine admiration. Paganini looked a them, and such triumph imprinted on his lips an unforgettablesmile."16 [trl, PXBj

In many pictorial representations of Paganini with an orchestra, one can verify

that he is the only, one who is performing. The other musicians, completely oblivious of their orchestral duties, are watching him with an expression of incredulous amazement.l" 15 "...Le Napoleon du genre... Le secret de la creation artistique, quel est-il? Quelle trajectoire artistique a pu suivre, par exemple, la force qui anime cet homme malingre? Et cette force, d'ou lui vient-elle? Le miracle le plus extraordinaire qui me surprenne en ce moment, c'est celui que Paganini sait operer, Ne croyez pas qu'il s'agisse de son archet, de son doigte, des sons fantastiques qu'il tire de son violon... n y a sans doute quelque chose de rnysterieux dans cet homme.l'Baizac, Honore de, Correspondence, Letter to S.H.Berthoud, 18 March 1831. 16"Je ne l'ai vu jouer qu'une fois a son premier concert a l'ancien grand-Opera de Paris. Tout l'orchestre, compose de grands artistes diriges par l'illustre Habeneck, fut tellement abasourdi, stupefait de ce qu'il entendait, que tous, et successiuemeni cesserent pendant un moment de l'accompagner: silence de I'orchestre, et toutes leurs figures en l'air en veritable admiration. Paganini baissa le regard sur eux, et pareil triomphe imprima sur ses levres un sourire inoubliable. Pirondi, Pirus, Letter to Alberto Bachmann, Marseille, 30 April 1905, reproduced in: Bachmann Alberto, "Nicoll> Paganini", BlIlletin Fran,ais de la S.I.M., p. 23. 17A well-known exemple is the sketch executed by D. Maclise at a performance in the King's Theatre at the Haymarket, London, June 1831.

48

"5 Ilona bene, rna non sorprende" ("He plays well, but does not astonish") /

When a report reached Paganini in Genoa in January 1816 that CharlesPhilippe Lafont was to give two concerts in Milan, he rushed off to Lombardy, anxious to hear his famous colleague. Lafont,18 Paganini's senior by one year, was a pure product of the French School, trained at the Paris Conservatoire under Rodolphe Kreutzer and Pierre Rode. He had been chamber virtuoso of the Czar at St Petersbourg, Violon du Roi in the Chapel of Louis XVIII, (distinctions carrying certainly more prestige than a position at the provincial court of Lucca), and, at that time, could claim wider recognition than his Italian colleague whose career had not yet extended beyond Italy, It was essential for Paganini, who was planning a concert tour of Europe, to form an estimate of Lafont's playing: he was aware that his Italian style, with the addition of all his personal ingredients, differed considerably from that of the then prevalent Paris School, and was anxious to hear one of its best exponents before going abroad. Paganini wrote to his friend Germi immediately after Lafont's first concert in Milan. Here is the laconic report: "...Yesterday evening we had a concert at the Scala by Monsieur Lafont. This worthy professor has found no indication that anyone wishes to hear him again. He plays well, but does not astonish."19

[trl. PXBl

"Sllona bene, rna non sorprende": i.e, as far as violin playing is concerned, Lafont's performance was irreproachable ("he plays well"). But Paganini implicitly admits a personal advantage over Lafont in the form of a better understanding of the listeners' psychology. Lafont's failure to captivate the audience originates in the predictable character of his pure, classical style ("he does not astonish"). 18Charles-Philippe Lafont (1781-1839) (xBerthaume, Kreutzer and Rode). 19"...Ieri sera abbiamo avuto al Teatro della Scala un'Accademia di Monsieur Lafont. Questa bravo professore non ha incontrato alsegno di volerlo risentire, Suona bene, rnanon soprende..."Paganini, Niccoli>, Letter to GermL Milan, 3 February 1816 [PE 41,

49

The violation of expectations: a departure from Classical ideals For Gudrun Weidmann, the Sondershausen-based German musicologist, the quest for the disconcerting, the unexpected (das Unerwartete) - the deliberate violation of expectations - is a characteristic attitude in Romantic art in general, and in Romantic virtuosism in particular, which resolutely departs from earlier Classical ideals: "Whereas Classicism, with its pronounced philosophy of beauty, loves only the moderation of the form, the balance of forces, Romanticism rejects this very evenness and seeks to amaze and shock through the unexpected."ZO [trL PXBj

The Romantic virtuoso was possessed by the urge to create a dramatic effect, but the public too was "clamouring for innovation and brilliance", and wanted to see the artist as possessing extraordinary faculties (the artist as a "Romantic hero"). Paganini, better perhaps than any of his contemporaries perceived this evolution: "Paganini understood the psyche of his contemporaries who wanted to see in the artist also an extraordinary human being. Only the irrational could captivate them. Consequently it was not so much the work of art itself which interested the Romantics as the creative process which it revealed. The reason he believed in improvisation was because it most closely reflected his ideal of creation born out of the moment. Thus, the virtuoso, embodied par excellence by Paganini, is the typical representative of Romanticism." 21

[trl. PXBI

20"...Liebt die Klassik mit ihrer ausgspragten Philosophie des Schonen nur die maBvolle Form, das Gleichgewicht der Krafte, so verneint die Romantik geradezu dieses

Eb~nmass

und sucht

durch das Unerwartete zu verbliiffen und zu erschrecken..."Weidmann, Gudrun. Die Violintechnik Pagarunis, PhD diss.Humbcldt-Universitat, Berlin, 1951, P: 2. 21"Paganini kannte die Psyche seiner Zeitgenossen, die im Ktinstler auch den aussergewohnliche Menschen sehen wollten. Das Irrationale nur vermochte sie zu fesseIn. Daher interessierte den Romantiker weniger das Kunstwerk selbst, als der schopferische Vorgang, der sich in diesem offenbart. Darum glaubte er an die Improvisation, wei1sie seinem Ideal des aus dem Augenblick geborenen Schaffens am niichsten kam. So ist gerade der Virtuose, den Paganini par excellence verkorpert, der typische Vertreter der Romantik. .." (ibidem).

50

In this perspective, virtuosity can be seen as the ability of instantaneously

giving form to the creative impulse. Paganini's improvisatory style fascinated his listeners because he gave them the impression that the original creative process was unfolding before their eyes and ears: "the performance did not follow, but rather instantly translated the spirit of creation as a result of his immediate yet thoughtful self-identification withthe music. This was one of the strongest - and perhaps mostawe-inspiring - aspirations in Romantic art.,,22 [trl. PXBJ Such an extempore translation of the poetic idea into a coherent piece of music requires from the composer a considerable musical and technical knowledge, and, from the performer, a high degree of instrumental skill and preparation which is commonly called "Virtuosity".

In defining ( or re-

defining) the laws of virtuosity and in illustrating their application, Paganini provided the "Artists" with a tool which would facilitate the access to artistic freedom. His brilliant formulation found an enthusiastic response among the young romantic musicians and the Caprices became a sort of text-book of virtuosity for the rest of the 19th Century.

An impassioned striving for

freedom marked the social, political and artistic movements of the time. Beyond their divergences, the French revolutionaries, the Risorgimento heroes and the young Romantics shared the ideal of Liberie.

Paganini's

fundamental intuition about virtuosity - an aspect of musical language particularly suited to convey the ideas of liberty and emancipation of the self proved premonitory: "Virtuosity [Susan Bernstein writes] is both a product and a property of the nineteenth century ... and the virtuoso - a figure reminiscent of the rhapsode, the sophist and the actor - is yet historically specific within a 19th century musical context".23

22"In lui insomma la esecuzione non seguiva, bensi traduceva istantaneamente 10 spirito della creazione, secondo un'immedesimarsi immediato eppure riflessivo che fu una delle piu avvertite e forse temute aspirazioni dell'arte romantica." Martinotti, Sergio. QUocento Strumentale Italiano, Bologna: Forni, 1972, p. 276. 23Bernstein. Susan. Virtuosity of the Nineteenth- Century: Music and Language in Heine Liszt and Baudelaire, PhD diss. The John Hopkins University,1994, P: XIV.

51

Albi RQsenthal's "intriguing CQpy" of the Caprices A very intriguing CQPy of Ricordi's first edition of the Caprices must be mentioned as an important piece of information in relation to both the dedication "Alli Artisti" and KarQI Lipinski's statement that the Caprices were originally written for friends. This copy, in the possession of the London antiquarian Albi Rosenthal was shown at the Convegno Internazionale Niccolo Paganini e il suo tempo held in 1982 at Genoa.

In his highly

interesting communication to the Paganini Congress, Mr Rosenthal described in detail the particularities of this copy.! at the head of each caprice, a name is written in brown ink in a hand contemporary with Paganini. Here is the list

of the Caprices with their respective dedicatees. according to Mr Rosenthal's reading: N°l: Vieuxtemps. NOZ: Austri. N°3: Sivori. N°4: Ole Bull. N°S: Ernst. N"6: Lipinski. N"7: Liszt. N°B: Alard. N°9: Herrmann. N°lO: Haumann. N° l1:Thalberg. N°12:Dhuler. N°l3: Lafont. N"14: Rode. N"15: Spohr. N"16: Kreutzer. N°17: Artot. N"l8: Bohrer. N"19: Romberg. NOZO: Bignami, NOZl:Bazzini. N"22: Alliani. NOZ3. ?, N" 24: Nicoli! Paganini, sepolto pur troppo.

In addition, the title page bears the inscription "Proprieta di Niccolb

Paganini" (property of Niccolo Paganini) and, on the inside of the origlnal paper cover, there is a list of musicians prefaced with the words "A Parigi l'inverno" (In Paris, in winter) which suggests that Paganini annotated his

copy some time between 1832 and 1840. Assuming that the inscriptions are really in Paganini's hand, one may presume that he was preparing a new edition of the work, possibly for one of the Parisian music publisher he knew, i.e, Pacini or Troupenas.

However, a close examination of the list of the

dedicatees could provide a reliable reference tool when trying to reach conclusions. Little is known about Austri [Caprice 2], Herrmann [Caprice 9] Dhuler [Caprice13], and there is also the problem of Caprice 24 with its enigmatic self-dedication Otherwise, it appears that all the dedicatees were dose acquaintances Qr had connections with Paganini and, as Mr Rosenthal pointed out, this applies particularly - and most significantly - to the lesser known, such as Alliani, Bignami and Bohrer. lRosenthal, Albi, "An intriguing copy of Paganini's Capricci" in: NicolO Paganini e .lflnI2Q, Genoa: Citta di Genova, 1982, pp. 235-246.

52

n suo

Luigi Alliani (Caprice 22], was a violinist and conductor at Vicenza, There was a bond of friendship between Alliani and Paganini who corresponded from 1828 until Paganini's final illness. The Paganini Epistolario contains three letters addressed to Alliani (PE 113, 222, 338), each of them bearing witness to their mutual esteem and affection. Carlo Bignami (1808-18-18) [Caprice 20] had the distinction of being considered by Paganini one of Italy's best violinists and to be chosen by him to lead the Parma orchestra.

The Paganini Epistolario includes five letters addressed to

Bignami (PE 239, 244, 246, 250, 339). Antoine Bohrer (1783-1852) [Caprice.18] was born in Hanover and studied in Paris with Rodolphe Kreutzer. Among his compositions for the violin are 1ll Caprices ou Etudes published by Schlesinger in Berlin (c. 1820): noderalo >

------------,

,~ ...

A. Bohrer (Caprice 6) ----:"'\

fpOUSStZ

Bohrer was introduced to Paganini by Hector Berlioz, who admired him as a fine interpreter of Beethoven's quartets: "A. Bohrer is one of those men who strike me as best able to understand such of Beethoven's works as are commonly reputed eccentric and unintelligible ...One evening, in one of those superhuman adagios where Beethoven's genius soars upwards, immense and solitary as the colossal bird of the snowy heights of Chimborazo, Bohrer's violin, whilst singing the' sublime melody, seemed animated by epic inspiration; his tone acquired a twofold power of expression and broke forth in accents unknown even to himself; inspiration shone out on the countenance of the virtuoso. We held our breath with swelling hearts when Antoine, suddenly stopping short. laid down his fiery bow, and rushed into an adjoining room. Madame Bohrer followed anxiously, but Max said, still smiling: «It is nothing; he could not contain himself. We wil\ leave him for a little to get calm and the begin again. We must excuse,him.»

Excuse him! Beloved anistl,,2

[ttl. R&EHolmes.1884]

2.. A. Bohrer est l'un des hommes qui m'ont paro Ie mieux comprendre et sentir celles des oeuvres de Beethoven reputees excentriques et inintelligibles....Un soir, dans un de ces adagios

53

Franz Liszt (1811-1886) [Caprice 7] and Sigismond Thalberg (1812-1871) [Caprice 11] were the two greatest piano virtuosos of the time. Details of their close personal artistic relationship with Paganini are given in Chapter 1. Henri Vieuxtemps

(1820~1881)

[Caprice 1.] studied under Charles de Beriot at

the Brussels Conservatorium and developed rapidly into a virtuoso of the highest rank. In 1833, aged thirteen, he started a tour of Europe. The first concerts of an enormous series took place in Germany where he met Carl Cuhr. Louis Spohr, Bernhard Molique and other prominent German violinists of the time. In Dresden, Schumann welcomed him in an article of his Neue Zeitschrift, hailing him as a genius: "...If one speaks of Vieuxtemps, one might also think of Paganini .. On hearing Paganini for the first time, I expected him to begin with a tone such as had never been heard before. But how thin and small was the tone with which he commenced! Then, little by little, he began to throw his magnetic chains into the audience; they oscillated above and around. Then the links gradually became stronger and more intricate; even the audience seemed to contract. He tightened the chains until the audience was gradually fused into a single entity - one with the master himself, all counterbalancing each other with sympathetic influence. Other magicians, other spells. What fascinated in Vieuxtemps's case were not isolated gems which we could grasp; neither was it that gradual contraction as in Paganini's case ...From the first to the last tone we stood, taken by surprise, as if in a magic circle, the beginning and end of which were hidden from us."3 [ttl. PXBj surhumains, ou Ie genie de Beethoven plane immmense et solitaire COmIDe l'oiseau colossal des cimes neigeuses du Cimboraco, Ie violon de Bohrer, en chantantla rnelodie sublime, semblait anime du souffle epique; sa voix redoublait de force expressive, eclatait en accents 11 lui-meme inconnus: l'inspiration rayonnait sur le viage du virtuose; nous retenions notre haleine, nos coeurs se gonflaient, quand A. Bohrer s'arretant tout 11 coup, deposa son bnilant archet et s'enfuit dans la chambre voisine. Mme Bohrer inquiete, l'y suivit, et Max, toujours souriant, nous dit: 'Ce n'est rien, il n'a pu se contenir; laissons-le se calmer un peu et nous recommencerons. II faut lui pardonner!' Lui pardonner ...cher artiste!"Berlioz, Hector, Memoires Ed. by P. Citron, Paris. Flammarion, 1991. p.338. 3"Wenn man von Vieuxtemps spricht, kann man wohl an Paganini denkeri, Als ich diesen zuerst horen sollte, meinte ich, er wiirde mit einem nie dagewesenen Ton anfangen. Dann begann er und so dunn, so klein! Wie er nun locker, kaum sichtbar seine Magnetketten in die Massen warf, so schwankten diese heriiber und hiniiber. Nun wurden die Ringe wunderbarer, verschlungener; die Menschen drangten sich Enger; nun schnurte er immer fester an, bis sie nach und nach wie zu einem einzigen zusarnmenschmolzen, dem Meister sich gleichwiegend gegeniiberzusteUen, als eines vom andern von ihm zu empfangen. Andere Kunstzauberer haben

54

It was in London, in the spring of 1,834, that Vieuxtemps heard and met

Paganini (27 April). The encounter was significantly coincidental: Paganini was then playing the viola in public for the first time in his career.t He had just finished writing his SQnata per la Gran Viola [M.S.70]:

the date of 27

April 1834 which appears on the orchestral parts shQWS that they were copied out the very day of the concert.f To hear the viola as a solo instrument and, besides, played by Paganini in person, was a revelation to the young Vieuxtemps. The special affection he had for the viola dates from that time. Among the works he subsequently wrote for this intrument one must mention the

~

(op.30) and, of course, the wonderful, moving Capriccio (n°

9 of the posth. op.): H.vi.eux1emps (Capriccio pour Al1D seul)

Lento, con aolta 3

~""'" "

.r _

~..

• •

•

. . ro,

2 .........,j=

Henri Vieuxtemps was by far the youngest of all dedicatees listed in Albi Rosenthal's copy and it appears that Paganini had not met him prior to the London concert of 27 april 1834. One may therefore conclude that the Rosenthal copy was annotated after this date.

Among the other young

dedicatees are Alexandre Artot (1815-1845) [Caprice 17], Delphin Alard (18151888) [Caprice 8] and Antonio Bazzini (1818-1897) [Caprice 2], all of them promising talents of the time. Paganini had always taken a keen interest in his young colleagues, dispensing much praise and encouragement. It is therefore not surprising to find their names next to those of such established celebrities as Kreutzer, SpQhr and RQde. 6 andere Formeln. Bei Vieuxtemps find es nicht die eiru:elnen Schonheiten, die wir festhalten konnten, noch ist es jenes allmahliche Verengen, wie bei Paganini...Wir stehen hier unvermutet vom ersten bis zum letzten Ton wie in einem Zauberkreis, der um uns gezogen, ohne dall wir Anfang und Ende linden konnten" Schumann, Robert, GesamroeJteSchriften tiber Musik und Musiker. Berlin: Wegweiser Verlag, 1922, pp. 63-64.

~e Times. 28 April 1834 : "Last night, Signor Paganini introduced a performance on the viola, which was the first lime he played this instrument in public:' 5Moretti, Maria R./ Sorrento Anna. Calalogo Tematico delle Musiche dl Niccolb Paganini, Genoa: Comune di Genova, 1982, p.216.

55

In 1796-97, Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831) [Caprice 16] was touring Italy and it

is during a brief stay in Genoa that he met the fifteen year old Paganini who amazed him by his extaordinary sight-reading powers."

Kreutzer had

published his 40 Etudes 8 just the year before (1796), and it is likely that he would have discussed their interpretation with the young Italian violinist who, perhaps, knew them already, since Marquis Di Negro, his Genoese Maecenas, had one of Italy's most extensive private music libraries. Whether Paganini ever made the personal acquaintance of Jacques Pierre Rode (1744-1830) [caprice 14] is not known. However, from a letter he wrote to Germi one may infer that he had the opportunity to hear the French virtuoso: "My opinion is that Rode is attempting to make a contribution to Italy, being a very acquisitive man who can never have enough money. In the waiting-room of Paradise one cannot play better than he does; he may not know much about variety, but just hear him and you'll be amazed".9 [ttl. PXBJ

Paganini played Rode's concertos - with some additions and embellishments of his own - until comparatively late in his career. In the first years of his activity as a touring violinist, he had relied on a repertoire of concertos by Rode, Kreutzer and Viotti and his own grand concertos for violin and orchestra took long years of reflection and maturation. He had a special liking for one of the Rode's concertos, which he often played in the opening of his programmes.W As regards Rode's famous 24 Caprices en forme d'Etudes (first published in 1813) it is not sure that Paganini knew them before having his own 24 Capricci published by Ricordi in 1820. Nevertheless, the fact that he had access to Rode's concertos (with all the accompanying orchestral material implied) suggests that he would have no special difficulty in obtaining a copy of the 24 Caprices en forme d'Etudes. 6since Rosenthal's copy was probably annotated after April 1834, the dedications to Kreutzer (+1831) and to Jacques Pierre Rode (+1830) were made posthumously. 7Tibaldi-Chiesa, Maria, Paganjni. la vita e l'QPera. Milan: Garzanti, 1940, p.24 Su,e modern editions of Kreutzer's Etudes comprise 42 instead of the 40 original studies, N"13 and 24 were added by a French reviser in the 1850s, 9"...10 sono d'opinione che Rode tenti di dare una contribuzione all'Italia, essendo uomo molto interessato, e mai sazio della fortuna. Nell'anticamera del Paradiso non si puo suonare meglio di lui; forse non conoscera troppo il regno della varieta: ma sentilo e stupirai.;' Letter to ~ 27 oct. 1820 (PE 49), 10Probably the concerto in D minor (see Kestner, A. R6mjsehe Studjen. Berlin: Verlag der Deckersehen Gehelmen Ober-Hofbuehdruckerei,1850, pp. 34 and 42.

56

Karol Joseph Lipinski (1790-1861) [Caprice 6] studied the elements of violin

playing with his father but otherwise was self-taught. In his tenth year, he felt attracted by the sonority of the 'cello which he began to practise with such assiduity that he was soon able to play some of Romberg's concertos.

He felt

that the study of the 'cello not only strengthened the fingers of his left hand but also helped him to acquire breadth and power of tone on the violin. In 1810 he became the leader of the Orchestra at Lw6w (Lenberg). In 1817 he went to Italy chiefly with the hope of hearing Paganini. After vainly wandering from one place to another he finally found him in Piacenza in the spring of 1818.11 He had arrived there just in time for a concert: "...the public cheered and shouted in frenzied ectasies over the brilliant fireworks of that violin-sorcerer; when, however, Paganini had finished an adagio in that wonderful singing style, entirely his own, Lipinski was the only person who applauded. This attracted the attention of those around him, and when he told them of the long journey he had undertaken to hear Paganini, they took him straightway and introduced him to the Maestro".12

Paganini soon recognised the talent of his young admirer. He played chamber music with him daily and even performed with him in concert on 17th April 1818.13 Almost five months had elapsed since the manuscript of the Caprices had been handed to Ricordi's engraver Signor Tomaso (24 November 1817). Paganini, still preoccupied by problems pertaining to the publication, discussed the matter with Lipinski, who later reported the conversation to Schumann: "...One has to know how the Caprices were written and how speedily the process of publication took place in order to excuse quite a few things in the original: According to Mr Lipinski they were written at different times and places, and given by Paganini to his friends in manuscript form as gifts. When later the publisher Ricordi requested to publish the entire collection, Paganini is said to have hastily written them down from memory."14 11 PE 19: "Un certo Lipinski polacca, prcfessore di violino, uenne dol/a Polonia in Italia espressamenie per seniirmi; mi ritrovb a Piacenza e stava quasi sempre can me, adorandomi." "A certain Lipinski, a Pole, professor of the violin, carne to Italy from Poland expressly to hear me...He met with me in Piacenza and hardly ever left my side; he worshipped me:' 12Straeten, E. van der, op. cit. p.379.

13 The text of the original concert bill is reproduced in: Neill, Edward. II Cavaliere Filarmonico, Genoa: De Ferrari, 1990, p.99 14"Man muss wissen, auf welche Weise die Emden entstanden, und wie schnell sie zurn Druck befordet wurden, urn manches Im Original zu Entschuldigen. Herr Lipinski erzahlte daB sie in verschiedenen Zeiten und Orten geschrieben und von P. an seine Freunde im Manuskrite

57

The phrases "in order to excuse quite a few things in the original" and "how speedily the process of publication took place" deserve special comment. The manuscript handed to Ricordi, although showing remarkable compositional fluency, reveals a degree of haste.

Besides, it contains errors which also

appeared in the printed version, faithfully copied by Ricordi's engraver who added some of his own as well. These mistakes subsequently crept into the first German edition (Leipzig:Breitkopf & Hartel, 1823) and the first French edition (Paris:Richault,1826). They have proliferated even in some modem editions. In others, some have been corrected, while others were added...The reason given by Alberto Cantu is that Paganini did not read proofs for the first edition.l 5 It is therefore quite understandable that he would later have thought of preparing a new, expurgated edition of the work. On his homeward journey, Lipinski went to Trieste where he visited (presumably on Paganini's suggestion) -the ninety years old Dr Massarana, a surviving pupil of Tartini .16 Massarana did not like Lipinski's rendition of one of Tartini's sonatas and asked him to read carefully the poem written under the music, explaining that Tartini always tried to embody a poetical idea in his interpretations, thereby infusing his playing with a twofold power of expression (the "suonare parlante").17

In 1828 - eleven years after the

Piacenza episode - Lipinski and Paganini met again, this time in Warsaw, during the festivities held on the occasion of Czar Nicholas' coronation as King of Poland (see Chapter 1). verschenkt worden waren. Als spater der Verleger, Herr Ricordi, P. zu einer Herausgabe der Sammlung aulgegordet, habe dieser sie eilig und aus dem Gedachtnis aulgeschrieben usw. Schumann, Robert, op.cit., p.l64 , note ...) 15Canru, Alberto. Preface to the de Barbierl/Cantu/Herttrich edition of the Caprices, Munich:Henie Verlag, 1990, p. ix. 16Costantino Massarana (sometimes spelt Mazzorana or Mazzurana), a student of Tartini in Padua and a Doctor otLaw. For more details see: Dounias, Minos. Die Yiolinkonzerle Giuseppe Tarljnjs. ZUrich: Moseler Verlag Wolfenbtittel, 1966, pp. 90 and 200,. See also Blom, Eric. Article "Lipinski" in The Groye's, 5th edition, London:Macmillan, 1954, vol.V, p.25l. 17Dounias, Minos. Die ViolinkoDzerte Giuseppe Tartinis 315 Ausdruck einer

Ktinstlerpersiinlichkeit und einer Kulturepoche. ZUrich: Miiseler Verlag Wolfenbtittel, 1966, pp.91-96.

58

Theodor Haumann (1808-1878) [Caprice 10] had violin lessons from Joseph Francois Snel in Brussels, but was destined for the career of a lawyer. 18 After two years at the University of Louvain, he abandoned his law studies and went to Paris against the will of his parents (1827). There, he played with varying success in a number of concerts. He possessed a big powerful tone and an exuberant artistic temperament but was handicapped by a lack of systematic musical and instrumental training. He decided to return to University where he obtained the degree of Doctor of Law in 1830, but his love for the violin surfaced again.

He underwent a two-year course of intensive training,

practising up to ten hours a day and, when he made a new appearance in Paris in the winter of 1832, he was rewarded with far greater success.

During 1833,

he met with Paganini who took a friendly interest in him. Haumann played as a soloist at the memorable concert given by Berlioz on 22 December 1833.19

It was on that occasion that Paganini, who had come primarily to encourage his "protege", heard the Symphonie fantastique.

After the concert, he went

backstage to congratulate the composer. Here is Berlioz's account: "...Lastly, my happiness was crowned when the public had all gone, and a man stopped me in the passage - a man with longhair, piercing eyes, a strange and haggard face - a genius, a Titan among the giants, whomI had never seenbefore, and at first sightof whomI was deeply moved; this man pressed my hand, and overwhelmed me with burning eulogies that set both my heart and brain on fire. It was Paganini (22nd December, 1833)."20 [trl. R&E Holmes] Contemporary reports about Haumann's playing do not seem to have been consistently favourable. In spite of an excellent technique, he apparently had a strong inclination to mannerism and, according to Edmund van der Straeten, he took all movements too slowly because he had noticed that "his power of tone and breadth of style constituted the chief attraction".21

Heinrich Heine

18rhe mainsource of biographical data onHaumann is: Straeten, Edmund van der. Iill: History of the Violin (2vol.) New-York: Da Capo Press, 1968, vol. Il, p.368, 19See: de Courcy, G. op.cit. vol.Il, p.138 and Newman, Ernest (editor). Memoirs ofHector !kl:l.illZ. New-york:Dover, 1966, p.201, footnote 1. 20" Entin pour cornble debonheur, un homme, quandlepublic fut sorti, un homme a la longue chevelure, a l'oeil percant, a la figure etrange et ravagee, un possede du genie, un colosse panni les geants, quejen'avais jamais vu, et dontIepremier aspect me troubla profondernent, m'attenditseul dans la salle, m'arreta au passage pour me serrer la main, m'accabla d'e.Ioges brulants qui m'incendierent le coeur et la tete; c'etai: Paganini!! (22 decernbre 1833)," Berlioz, Hector. op.cit., p,264.

59

was particularly vitriolic in his criticism of Haumann, ranking him as the prototype of the "empty virtuoso", a mere caricature of violinists like Paganini or Ernst: "Heumann, the 50n of the Brussels pirate publisher, conducts on his violin the business of his

father.

What he plays is nothing but a duplicate of the best violinists, with occasional

embelJishments of the text by way of superfluous notes of his own and some addition of brilliant typographical errors:'22 [trl. PXBj

Haumann, unlike most of the virtuosos of the time, was not a performing composer. He only played the music of others. Heine's impression was that in his role as an interpreter, rather than effacing himself in speaking the language of another, Haumann tended to digress from the composer's intention by adding "embellishments" and other brilliant flourishes of his own which were irrelevant to the original text. In Heine's literary metaphor, the interpreter is seen as performing the many roles of a typescript, editor, printer and publisher all at once. His severity towards Haumann perhaps stemmed from a personal susceptibility to over-editing and transgression of copyrights. The German school of violin playing owes much to the influence of Louis Spohr (1784-1859) [Caprice 15].

An outstanding violinist in his youth, he

consciously modelled his playing on the style of Jacques Pierre Rode whom he heard for the first time in Brunswick in 1803. Eventually tired of the life of a touring virtuoso, he preferred to devote his energies to composition and teaching. As a pedagogue, his philosophy became the very antithesis of that of the then prevalent French school (and probably of his own as a former virtuoso).

Now, his bowing followed different principles from those of the

French and Italian masters (he was preoccupied with Paganini's success and did what he could to demonstrate the superiority of his personal, more 21Straeten, Edmund van der. op.cit. 1'.138. 22"Haumann, der Sohn des Brusseler Nachdruckers, treibt auf der Violine das Metier des Vaters: was er geigt, sind reinliche Nachdriicke der vorzuglichsten Geiger, die Texte hie und da verbramt mit iiberfliissigen Originalnoten und verrnehrt mit brillanten Druckfehlern.t'Heine, Heinrich, SiimtJiche Schrjf\en, Munich: Carl Hanser verlag, 1979, "01.\1, PI'. 360.

60

"serious" approach). Nothing was done to excite applause: "flying staccato, springbow, spiccato, sautille, etc., he condemned as trivial effects, and played all quick passages with detached bows",23 His style was noble and dignified, the tone broad, and all trace of sentimentality severely eliminated. Through his active influence, German violinists were encouraged to favour earnestness in artistic effort and to avoid "empty" brilliance. 24

Paganini and Spohr met

for the first time in Venice in 1816 and on a number of occasions in subsequent years.

Although their personal and artistic relationships have

been copiously documented elsewhere, the following passage from Spohr's autobiography is worth mentioning: "In June 1830 Paganini came to Cassel and gave two concerts in the theatre, which I heard with great interest. His left hand, and his constantly pure intonation were to me astonishing, But in his compositions and his execution I found a strange mixture of the highly genial and childishly tasteless, by which one felt alternately charmed and disappointed, so that the impression left as a whole was, after frequent hearing, by no means satisfactory to me.

As his visit took place

just on Whitsunday, I took him the next day to WhilhelmshOhe, where he dined with me, and was very lively, indeed somewhat extravagantly so.',25

In spite of Spohr's somewhat lofty attitude, Paganini had a sincere admiration for his German colleague, both as a violinist and as a composer and often expressed it publicly or in his letters. 26 It is therefore not surprising to find his name among the dedicatees of A. Rosenthal's copy. Emesto Camillo Sivori (1815-1894) [Caprice 3] received his first formal musical education from Giacomo Costa, a worthy representative of the Classical school of violin playing who operated at Genoa. 27 In 1823, Paganini, himself a former pupil of Costa, took the boy under his personal care and gave him systematic instruction for a period of about sixth months.

Sivori rapidly

23Straeten, Edmund van der. op.cit., vol.Il, p.98. 24The short biographical note on Spohr first appeared in: Borer, Ph. Aspects of European Influences on Australian Yiolin Playing & Ieaching, p, 30. 25Louis Spohr's Autobiography. translated from the German, London: Longman, Roberts, & Green, 1868, vol.II. (p. n° mg). 26See: PE 85, 146, 310. 27Moretti, Maria R./ Sorrento Anna. Cat"logo Tematico deBe Musiche dj NiccolI> Paganini, Genoa: Comune di Genova, 1982,p.150 and Straeten, Edmund van der, op.cit. p.352.

61

acquired a phenomenal technique which he combined with a limpid, silvery tone, and perfect intonation. Whether Paganini really developed a course of study for the violin differing from that used by other schools is a highly controversial question.

In his conversations with Max Julius Schottky

(Prague, Dec. 1828), he insisted that he had worked out such a plan and claimed that he used it in part when he instructed Sivori. Schottky writes that Paganini repeatedly assured him that, with his method, a young man could be fully trained in three years to a degree of proficiency usually attained after ten years of study.

Although several violinists benefited directly from Paganini's

example and advice (Lipinski, Ernst, Bull, Bazzini, Ciandelli and Agostino Robbio - who, incidentally, migrated to Australia 28), he had only two pupils who received their higher schooling from him: Catterina Calcagno who had a brilliant but ephemeral career, and Camillo Sivori. From the conversations that David Laurie had with Sivori, it appears that Paganini was very strict and that he insisted that his pupil would practise daily scales, but nothing really substantial is revealed about his pedagogical methods. 29 There is no doubt, however, that Paganini, who took a genuine and almost fatherly interest in his young student, was a dedicated teacher. During the comparatively short period of instruction, he wrote for Sivori an impressive number of works which the boy had to play before an audience (what we now call "performance practice"). The guitar part was played by Paganini himself and distinguished Genoese artists, willing to encourage the apprentice virtuoso, were the other members of the ad hoc chamber ensemble. Among the pieces dedicated to Sivori are 6 Quartets for violin, guitar, viola and 'cello [N.S of op.perd.], 12 Cantabili e Valtz for violin and guitar [M.s. 45 and N.6 of op.perd.], a Sonata con variazioni [N.8 of op.perd.], and a Concertino [NA of op.perd.].30 According to Edmund van der Straeten, Sivori preserved the manuscripts of these pieces "as his most precious treasures".31 Unfortunately, they are now 280rchard, W.A. Music in Australia, Melbourne: Georgian House, 1952, pp.53, 137-38 29Laurie, David Reminiscences of a Fiddle pealer. London, 1924, p. 60 seq. 30op.p. stands for opere perdute (lost works) and the corresponding numbers refer to section IV of theCatalogo Tematico delle Musjche eli Niccol" Paganini (p.330-341) 31Straeten, Edmund vander. op.cit. (E.van derStraeten hadmade personal acquaintance with Sivori therefore his biographical note, although it contains inexactitudes, is worth special attention).

62

all lost, with the exception of the Cantabile e Valtz in E major. The manuscript of this piece,32 which bears the dedication "al Bravo Ragazzino Sig. Camillo

Sivori da Nicola Paganini" is of special interest because the violin part is carefully fingered and annotated in Paganini's hand. Here is a diplomatic transcript of the first bars:

Q

• uaSI

Rd

1

:

N. Paganini, Cantabile e Va1tz [M.S.451

agIO~~

M i _ ~bl,e IifIA't! 3

3

___ --

--4_

4

3

3

~!ft=f'--2~y~ 1 (.

4

_

__5 2 ;--~.

~¥ -..

...---

4

4

4 .

~. ::::=-

3

3

2

3

3

(P -

HI.

Bagna Ie

piwne in

C>- )_

(dipl. tl'lJlS.ript)

Le1e ...

19Tartini·s cryptograms have been deciphered for the first lime by the violinist and music researcher Minos Dounias (>Kuhlenkampf) in 1935. 20See chapter II, Albi Rosenthal's "intriguing copy" of the Caprices.

106

Tartini's views were shared by Corelli's disciple, Francesco Geminiani, who recommended the reading of a great literary work as a means to achieve a truly inspired musical performance: "...Emotions are indeed most easily excited when accompany'd with Words; I would besides advise, as well the Composer as the Performer, who is ambitious to inspire his Audience, to be first inspired himself; which he cannot fail to be if he chuses a Work of Genius, if he makes himself thoroughly acquainted with all its Beauties; and if while his Imagination is warm and glowing he pours the same exalted Spirit into his own performance.',21

A correlation between words and music, much in the sense of Tartini and Geminiani, appears in Paganini's works based on operatic themes:

[Dal

tuo stona - to

so - glio

5i - gnor ti vol - gi a

N. Pegeni ni (I Pelpiti)

Rndant i no

[Dt tan - ti

no - ;]

pal - pi - ti

Di

tan-to

po

no

1

Similarly, the second movement of the Concerto N°lo known as the "Prison Scene", was inspired by a dramatic scene recited by Giuseppe De Marini. 22 From a prison cell, the great actor implored Providence to put an end to his suffering by relieving him of the burden of life: "Paganini had retired to bed, still overwhelmed by the emotions [the great actor had roused]; he could not sleep, and despairing of finding rest, he rose and found on his violin expressions which allowed hIm to pour out the burning intensity of his feeling,,23 [trI.PXBJ:

21Geminiani, Francesco. The Art of Playing: on the Violin London, 1751; facsimile edition byD.Boyden, London: o.ur, Music Opt., 1952,p.8 22De Marini, Giuseppe (1772-1829). Famous Italian actor who achIeved great success both in dramatic and in comic roles. 23"Paganini se mit au lit encore sous Ie coup des emotions qu'Il venait d'eprouver; illui fut impossible de se livrerau sommeil: desesperant de goater le repas, Use leve et trouvesur son vioion des expressions qui

lui servent a epanchertoutecettesensibilite qui lui brulaitsonarne...", Imber! de Laphaleque, G. Notice sur Ie celebre yioJjniste Nicolo Paganini Paris E.Guyot,1830, p.27

107

8010 ..:-~

N.Paganini (1st Concerto, 2nd rnvt.)

.

~....-

24

The dramatic climax of the piece is reached in the concluding bars. Of great interest is the indication tremolando, i.e. a trembling of the voice as when overwhelmed by emotion (not a bow tremolo):

:> 3& CON

cresco

P

4& CON

con passione

",P

=:==-

rall..nt ... tr..molando (dipl.tr .of ms.Cas.5560, b. 58-60)

Far more than an occasional effect, the par/ante was a striking, ever-present characteristic of Paganini's interpretative style. The uncommon power of suggestion of his playing and the articulatory quality of his expression were frequently acknowledged by listeners as well as by music critics: Rahel Varnhagen von Ense to her husband, March 7, 1829 "I heard Paganini on Wednesday...He really doesn't play the violin .. he does not have the tone (or tones) of Rode, of Durand, of Haack, of Giornovichi - he actually talks; he whimpers, imitates a thunderstorm, the stillness of night, birds that descend from heaven but do not soar towards heaven .. in short this is poetry. In the prayer from Rossini's Moise, he plays the different voices as they enter one after the other and then all together 1 swear to you that again and again 1 was forced to repeat the words of the harpist -"Wer nie sein Brot mit Triinen ajl..25 - to shudder, to weep. It was the very embodiment of the poem ..26[,

i~

.g$

3

~.~

$",

3

1 re

4ta Coma------------ J

~2

4

4

o

u

~-~

i=t':

4

2

1

2

3i 3

3

4

1

2

1

2

2

1

3

3

[dipl. tr. by PXB] 4

3

3

3

.l!~.~..-~I~~~~~~~I~~~~~~ lo-l J:;j

1

1111111 do re mi fa 301 18.

1 1 1 fa 301 18. 3za Coma-------------------- J

C8Iltiruo--------------------------, 4

~

0'

OU

4

.S!:l

2

2

mi

""73

';l§ ~

d~

~'"

2da Coma----------------------------J

2da Coma--------, 3za Come.-------------------------------------~ 4

4

1

2

2

4422

2

2

2

1

2

4

3

1~~~~~~~~$~II~fi~§i~~~$I 1

""

2

2

1

1

1

mi

18.

2

301 fa mi

do

lmmm~~m~m 3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

4

4

~

111 110re12 re . 31 re 0 d 4ta Coma------------J

Of extraordinary interest is the last bar, for which Paganini provides the following comment: "As for the four not very obedient harmonics marked some degree of pressure but they are not necessary.vs! 2212

'-" Y'---'

sol fa 4

mi 4 3

®, one must rest the finger with

4

3

I

I

do

4

["I. PXBJ

3

"'::~V:42 110

relre

This is a truly remarkable example which implies the rare - indeed unique combination of natural, artificial, and what I shall call secondary harmonics, 41"Li poco ubbidienri quattro Armonici qui scpra fatti soppressione rna non sono necessarj." (ibid.).

113

®

deesi appoglare i1 dito con qualche grade di

i.e, harmonics such as the "not very obedient" ones described by Paganini.

They have been variously labelled "pseudo harmonics" (Targonski),42 "secondary artificial harmonics" (Garbuzov)43 and "sticking harmonics" (Paynton).44 As stated by Paganini, slightly more pressure must be applied on the string than is necessary with ordinary harmonics. In his Principles of Violin Fingering of 1967, Israil Markovitch Yampolski gave an example of their application in rapid diatonic succession, as an alternative solution to traditional fingerings:

~ (Fi nele)'··---__ -- -

.---

(b.14-15)

__--J

~ (aj,~Aii;ut

'u'")

'\

(The Principles_of Violin Fingering. p.l 09)

/

_-----..

The emergence of a new genre of music treatise, the Flageolett-Schulen, or special methods devoted to the study of harmonics, bore testimony to the tremendous impact of Paganini's novel and imaginative use of harmonics. The best known was Carl Cuhr's Ueber Paganinis Kunst. die Violine zu spjelen. an ambitious, well-documented (although not exhaustive) survey of harmonic effects as used by Paganini. The great value of this work is that it constitutes a first-hand source of information.

Cuhr's informative

account derived from direct observation.tf The same can be said of the treatise of Niccolo De Giovanni, a pupil of the late Giacomo Costa, who also benefited from Paganini's personal advice. De Giovanni's unpublished work 46 (presumably written for his own students), contains several 42Targonski, Ivan B. The HarmQnics QfString Instruments, Moscow, 1936, pp.24-25 43Garbuzov, Nikolai A. ibid., p.5 (introduction) 44paynton, Leonard R. CQntrabass HarmQnic PQtential PhD diss. University of California, 1988, Ch. II. 45See supra survey of pertinentliteralure 46De Giovanni Niccolo, Metodo teoricQ-praticQ per ben fare SlI( ¥iDling gli Armonici semplici. trillati e dQPQY. Genoa, c.1830 [IDS. in the possession of the Conservatorio Niccolo Paganini of Genoa]

114

examples which come directly from Paganini. Of special interest is the notation of the trill in harmonics:

.J:,~V"4 J N. De Giovanni (Metono-pratiCO)

~F

J

J

l~l

lijf

I

(p.3)

Here is Paganini's method of playing tenths without finger extension:

-:rarlCO ) :: :: ~ = ==

d tt~lC N. De G'tovanrn. (M et ~o

2 II

•

2

2

II

1 II

I.

lme N01e Ne.tuI8li .. tJ

• .1

~

tJ

g4 SeS1e de. farsi Armonici

~

'" 4

1

g4 g3

'Effetto

I

r

0

(p. 9)

•

•

1I

~

(diplIr. b PXB)

As observed by Petis, Speyer, Kestner and others, Paganini did not use harmonics only for isolated effects. They were an integral part of his musical language and he constantly introduced them in his own music as well as in that of other composers to create variety of tone colour: Wilhelm Speyer to Ludwig Spohr, 17 September 1829 "The performance of the Beethoven Sonata op.24 was extremely interesting. Just to tell you the most memorable part of it: Imaglne! After the repetition of the first section of the rondo, he played the theme in artificial harmonics!,,47 [trl. PXBJ

As regards Paganini's 24 Caprices, there exist firmly rooted performing traditions (i.e. the addition of harmonics in the Caprice 9) which may well go back to people who heard Paganini play. In the light of Speyer's observation concerning the special treatment of the Rondo theme in Beethoven Spring Sonata, the inclusion of harmonics in the Caprices would seem to be a legitimate interpretative option. 47"H6chst interessant war der Vortrag der Beethovenschen Sonate op.24. Urn Ihnen das Wunderlichste davon zu erzahlen, so vemehmen Sie dall er nach der Wiederholung des ersten Teils des Rondos das Thema in Flageolett-Oktav-Doppelgriffen horen liess!" Speyer, Edward, Wilhelm Speyer der ! jederkomponisl, Munich, 1925, p 103.

115

The "marine trumpet" effect It is well-known that the range of natural harmonics available on the violin

is more limited than on larger' string instruments such as the 'cello, the double-bass and, indeed, the marine trumpet. In fact, even on the more responsive fourth string, the violin range does not extend much beyond the 6th partial. Now, in the Napoleon Sonata for the G string, Paganini ascends right to partial 12:

----

.>

(b. 5-6 of Final~)

--

(

.sft

(dipl. lr. by PXB)

In an article published in the first edition of the Grove's Dictionary of Music & Musicians, Edward

J, Payne provided evidence that Paganini had found a

method to increase the responsiveness of the string in playing harmonics: "Paganini's extraordinary effects in harmonics on a single string were in fact produced by temporarily converting his violin to a small marine trumpet,

As is well known, that clever

player placed his single fourth string on the treble side of the bridge screwing it up to a very high pitch, and leaving the bass foot of the bridge comparatively loose. He thus produced a powerful reedy tone, and obtained unlimited command over the harmonics: 4 8

The technique of the trumpet marine, a bowed instrument equipped with a vibrating bridge, primarily involved harmonics,

When properly adjusted,

the bridge produced a brassy tone not unlike that of a muted trumpet, but with enormous carrying power,

On such an instrument, experienced

players could produce all the pitches of the harmonic series through to the 16th partial. The same principle can be applied to the violin,49 We know that during his stay at Lucca, Paganini studied and played other stringed 48payne, Edward, article "trumpet marine" in: Grove's Dictiooary of Music and Musicjans.

London, 1890, vol.IV, p.175.

49 See: Giraud, Manuela. "Les Apprentis Sorciers" in: Le Nouvelliste et Feuille d'Avis du Valais, Sian, 13 July 1993, p.3.

116

instruments besides the violin, and that he taught the 'cello and even the double bass. 50 It was at that time that, having perfected his technique of monocordo playing, he wrote his Napoleon Sonata which he played on the occasion of the Emperor's birthday (25 August 1807). He passed on his knowlege, and therewith the skill, to his pupil Camillo Sivori who is reported to have employed the"marine trumpet" method for the performance of the Prayer of Moses.51

50See de Courcy, Geraldine, op.cit., vol.I. p. 71. 51- "Dans la Priere de Moise, la plus celebre, Paganini montait le Sol tl colt! de la

chantereile, au lieu de la corde de La, imite en cela par son eleve, Camillo Sivori." ["In the famous Prayer of Moses. Paganini moved the G string next to the E, in the place of the A. This was copied by his pupil, Camillo Sivori"] de Saussine, Renee, Paganini Ie Magicien. Ceneve: Le Milieu du Mende, 1950,p.l79. - "Cette fameuse quatrierne corde, Paganini, quelquefois, notamment pour Ies variations sur la priere de Moise, la montait tl cOte de la chanterelle, au lieu de la corde de La. Suivant l'exemple de son maitre, l'eminent violoniste Camillo Sivori, employait Ie meme 'true' pour jouer ces variations." Prod'hornme, J.-G., Paganini. Paris: H. Laurens, 1927, p. 40.

117

3. Chromaticism The full import of Liszt's famous letter to Pierre Wolff (already quoted in Chapter I, p.31) only appears in the light of its allied musical illustrations. Here is the relevant excerpt.l "...«And I too am a painter!» exclaimed Michelangelo the first time he saw a masterpiece. Though insignificant and poor, your friend keeps on repeating the words of the great man ever since Paganini's last concert. Rene, what a man, what a violinist, what an artist!

Heavens!

What suffering and misery, what tortures in those four strings!" Look! Here are some of his passages:

(Liszt to Wolff, ex.t)

(Liszt to Wolff, ox.3)

Sua - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,

~ lLa Mara (ed.) Franz Liszls Briefe. Leipzig, 1893-1905, vol.I, p.7. (autograph letter formerly in the possession of Mr Calmana-Levy, Paris) The musical examples were reproduced in: Bachmann, Alberto, "Nicolo Paganini", Bulletin Francais de la S.I.M, p.5.

118

(Lisz\ \0 'Wolff, ex.5)

Consecutive diminished sevenths (ex.I): four-part chordal progression with one or more voices forming a chromatic scale (ex.2); descending chromatic scale in. broken sixths (ex.3); prestissimo triplets swirling down chromatically (ex.4); interlocked whole scales formed by a succession of diminished sevenths in reciprocating arpeggios (ex.5).2 All this was adopted by Liszt and appeared in his works, as Federico Mompellio observed, "amplified and magnified through the possibilities of the keyboard".3 Liszt's appreciation of the far-reaching implications of these complicated and seemingly barren formulas is evident in some of his late compositions, where temporary suspension of tonal direction is achieved through the abundant use of diminished sevenths chords in chromatic succession. One could say that Paganini's chromaticism was, in almost a literal sense, a "science of colours". Michelangelo's revealing.

Liszt's elated reference to

"e ancb'io sana pittore!" was, in this respect, quite

Music critics too, in an attempt at capturing in words the effect

of Paganini's music, often found parallels in pictorial art: 2

_

(analysis of ex. 5)

3"...tutto quanto insomma ritroveremo nella produzione lisztiana ampliato e magnificato attraverso Ie possibilita della tastiera." (Conestabile, Gian Carlo, Yim dj Nicco!" Paganjnj. ed. by F.Mompellio, Milan: Dante Alighieri, 1936,p.76-77, footnote 1).

119

"...In the second part 'on the G string only', he blended. as it were. voices and tones in much

the same way as Raphael and Michelangelo fused light and colour on the canvas.

It is

impossible to express the surprise, the joy, the ecstasy with which the spectators in the most profound silence, drank in his harmonies...All things considered, Paganini is a prodigy and whether he is an angel or the devil, he is certainly the genius of music.,,4 [trl. PXBJ

For Paganini, scales, and in particular chromatic scales, were not merely a form of exercise. On the contrary: he loved their gleaming effect and used them in many of his works including his Caprices, his variations, his works for guitar, and his concertos. Their sound obviously enchanted him, and in several instances, he deliberately suspended the orchestral accompaniment in order to emphasise their effect (e.g. in the Concerto N°l. 1st mvt., 1st solo, bar 42). There exist several autograph documents, in the form of albumleaves, which bear witness to Paganini's preoccupation with the chromatic scale. Here, for example, is a common, four-octave chromatic scale, entitled simply - but Significantly - "Scala di Paganini":5

~l~ --------

SUlI

---

4" Egli nella seconda parte 'colla sola quarta corda' fuse, per cos! dire, Ie voci e i tuoni come Rafaello e Michelangelo hanno fuso sulle tele la luce e i colon, Non e possibile esprimere la sorpresa, la gioia, quella specie di estasi con cui nel piu profondo silenzio, gli spettatori ne bevevano l'armonia...Paganini e insomma un

e certamente il genio dela musica.'

(Gazzetta di Genova, 10 October 1814, quoted in:Neill, Edward, II Cavaliere armonico. p. 58).

prodigio e sia un angelo, sia un diavolo,

5The location of the manuscript is unknown. My transcript was is on the facsimile published in the auction catalogue N°LXXXVII ,Alltographen versteigerung, 19-20 February 1907, Leipzig: e.G. Boerner Buchantiquartat, p. 80.

120

~ -----

•

tJ

(dipl.lr. by PXB)

The next example is a diplomatic transcript of a remarkable document in the Sachsische Landesbibliothek in Dresden. It is a chromatic scale for piano, harmonised in contrary motion, that Paganini wrote in Clara Wieck's album of autographs, as a gesture of affection and a mark of admiration for her young talent.f

~

I

,

.

1I

L

~

tJ

!

:Jo1.

lI+

N. Pagani ni --a. ~

"

•

"

~"

~

_4l-

:Jo1.

t

~

II..

,

d

-

II"

1."

~

1

L

• L..

" (dipl. tr , by PXB) [SCichsische LandesbibliQlhek Dresdenl

10a

•

.ts. . Stammbuchb!atl fUr Klayjer Leipzig, 16 October 1829, autograph

InS.

lcall

N° Sachsische Landesbibliol:hek Dresden, Mus. Schu. 223j.

121

(dip1. tr , by PXB)

Mc% P4ganfni,. Pm'gi. ii 2? lug/io f8J7 [Bjb1iothequ~ N.tion.l~ 'y(. 23, 18.]

7

~ d! ~~i ~:y q~~ ~ 99 3 1 3 .. ..... [Pr'9u~ , C~ske Hudby Mus~um )(dip 1. tr. by PXB) St '1\itroceria

8

7Album of the Prince Wielhorski.

8Manuscript rep. in: Gitarristische Vereinigung 13 (1912), p.4.

122

Largo. con forte espresslone, e sempre crescendo

__ N. Pagani ni

_

~ ~tr.bY PX8)

[Bibliothequ. National. Vm? 5371 9

These documents consolidate the suggestion that Paganini, the thinker and philosopher of music, recognised the chromatic scale as an autonomous entity, much in the same sense as the Abbe Vogler,10 for example, who regarded it as a kind of "master scale" containing all the tonalities.U

9Album of the sculptor Dantan, p.1S, dated Paris, 21 July 1837. lOThemusical lineage of the Abbe Vogler, Paganini and Uszt (and one could add Rossini) goes back to the great eighteeth century music scholar Giambattista Martini (padre Martini): Abbe Vogler (>Padre Martini and Vallotti);

Paganini (e-Paer

>Fortunati >Padre Martini); Liszl (e-Paer >Fortunati >Padre Martini); Rossini (c-MatteixPadre Martini). 11 See: l)Watson, Robert. Viennese Harmon;e Theoey from Albrechtsberger to Schenker and Schoenberg Ann Arbor: UMI 1985 (Rev. of 1981 thesis), p.12-18. 2)Fetis, Francois Joseph. Traite cornpJet de 11) TheQrje et de: la Pratique de l'Harmonie. Paris, Braudus et Cie, 187S, p.J83 seq. (ordre omnitonique).

123

4. Chordal Playing

Double sounds Paganini's technique of "double sounds" included a wide variety of intervals ranging from the unison (which he embellished with a double trill as in Caprice 3) to the the twenty-ninth, i.e, a span of four octaves, as shown in the Gamme chromatique et contraire:

Such intervals, which the largest hand could never embrace, he mastered, according to Fetis, by means of a combination of ordinary sounds and harmonics.! He had a special liking for this technique (known as "mixed harmonics"), and used it not only for facility and intonation, but also for variety of tone colour. Carl Guhr has given evidence that he employed mixed harmonics in passages written modo ordinaria. Here are the opening bars of the ninth variation of the Carnevale di Venezia:

And here is, according to Guhr, Paganini's manner of execution:

tW"'~

I

(Ueber Pagani ni 's Kunst...p.39, ex.Z)

Paganini rarely gave technical directions such as fingerings, bowings, etc. In true Italian style, his reading of his own music, as well as of the music of others was more "philosophical" than philological.

Thus, even such a

IFetis, Francois Joseph.Notice bioe-raphjque surNjccolQ Pagaoini, Paris: Schonenberger, t 851, p.44

124

simple and generally accepted term as "double stopping" should be used with caution in reference to Paganini's playing.

The expression "double

sounds" would seem more appropriate to describe such intervals as thirds, fifths, sixths, octaves, tenths, and others, which he played in many different combinations of open strings, stopped notes, natural harmonics, artificial harmonics, and secondary artificial harmonics. Multiple sounds Triple and quadruple sounds occur in great profusion in Paganini's compositions.

More significant for the purpose of this investigation,

however, are examples such as the Largo. con forte e:>pressione e sempre crescendo where he extends the notion of chordal playing to the stacking of up to twelve notes:

~ ~

l l ~~.,

# ~--....

J1~":!!:! ~:

... ~

.

~ N. Paganin; ~

~

~

I:

'"

[Biblioth~qu~ National~ Vm? 537]

This idea was taken up by Eugene Ysaye in his 6 Sonates pour Violon Seul of ·1927:

125

Sostenuto playing Qn four and five strings There exist several short compositions in the form of "album leaves" which Paganini dedicated to various personalities of the time including Clara Wieck,2 the sculptor Jean-Pierre Dantan.v the Baroness d'Eskeles, the senator Ciovanni Treccani degli Alfieri, the Prince WielhQrski,4 Onorio de

Vito, Alfred de Beauchesne, Carl Czerny, Dr Archibald Billing, Ferdinand Baake, and Eduard Eliason (the leader of the London Philharmonic), These

musical souvenirs, apart from their historical and biographical value, cast light Qn SQme of Paganini's technical and musical preoccupations,

Of

considerable interest is the CapricciQ per Violino SQIQ [M.s. 54] which Paganini wrote in Vienna for Maurice Dietrichstein.f On that occasion, Paganini took up the challenge of writing a four-voice chorale for the violin, which he notated in "open-score" - each stave representing a string of the violin: N. Pugunini (Cupriccio per Violino Solo) ,11 II Andante

II

•

II

II

...

f;L .. ~

!

cr>.

~,I

I

.

I

~~ l

~

~

--

~

;t-.ty

~

I

r

. ~

.I

~

~

~

... '-(diPl.;. by PXB) 6

2Cbmmatic Scale for piano hwnoojsed in contrary IDotioo (see supra); Preludjo per ViO!iDQ (see infra) 3Largo con fooe espcession, e sempre crescendo, (see supra) 4 Gamme chromatjque el cootraire, (see supra)

5Dietrichstein. Maurice (Count) (1775-1864). Remembered chiefly as General Mack's aide-de-camp, and as the lUtor of Napoleon's son (1815-1831), Dietrichstein was also a talented musician and composer, and the father of Sigismond Thalberg (see Chapter I). A pivotal figure in Viennese cultural circles. he was known as the "music Count". His generosity towards young artists was legendary and he kept his house open to poets and musicians. Among his frequent guests were MUller, Beethoven and Schubert (who dedicated Per ErlkQni~ to him). Pietrichstein helped Paganini with the organisation of the Vienna concerts of 1828. As a mark of gratitude, Paganini contributed to Dietrichstein's famous collection of

autographs with the CapriccioperVioUno Solo.

126

This is, to my knowledge, the only example of notation on four staves in the whole solo violin literature. However, in the baroque era, it was common practice to write violin music on two staves, especially when the composition involved scordatura: H. von Biber (Mysteries ofthe Rosery)

(The Crucifixion)

PXB)

-

P. Nerdini (senete tnigmetique)

Largo

~

+tJ

" (ed, by PXB)

"

Paganini, followed by Ernst, also employed the notation on two staves: Allegro moHo

......

~.

erco

~

. ..

Paganini, Duo Me rveill e c--. .

. .

.

L....= L.....l

- - L.....l

,:, :,:,

pizzo tJ

f...

6 The manuscript autograph of the Capriccjo per Vjolino Solo is in the possession of the

fJ

Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna (call n' Biblioteca Palatina Yindobonensis, HS 18718). The themeis similarto that of Schubert's Trauerwalzer: F Schubert, op. 9 (D 365) Trauervalz er 5 4 3

It!

I

~w

jl \5

v

:;; w:;; w::;;

...

I 14

J 3

1

"It

127

I

I

JI . I

LJ

...

J I

...

...

(.OV P.X.B.)

•

HW. Ernst (Grand Caprice op.26)

As shown in the above examples, it was primarily out of concern for clarity and facility of reading that the notation on two staves was adopted, especially in the case of complex polyphonic passages. This, however, is not true of the Capriccio per Violino Solo, which, written as it is on four staves, is virtually impossible to sight-read.

Paganini's "scoring" seems to respond

more to philosophical considerations than to practical needs. Furthermore, it seems to present an insurmountable problem of execution:

sostenuto

playing on four strings is not possible with an ordinary bow, especially if one intends to respect the indications dolce and piano.

Even the high-arched

Schroeder bow (or "Vega-Bach-Bogen") does not give satisfactory results on four strings (although it allows legato playing on three). The Capriccio per Violino Solo requires the adoption of a method of bowing completely different from the ordinary one. This special technique was clarified by Paganini himself on the front page of the manuscript of the still unpublished Sonata a Violino e Viola: "Da suonarsi col erine delI'arco Sopra Ie Corde / e l'asta, ossia arco sutlo al Violino come:

7"To be played with the hair of the bow above the strings I and the stick, or bow, beneath the violin, thus [....J" (copy of the title page kindly sent by Dr Maria Rosa Moretti, Conservatorio N. Paganini, Genoa). See also Borer, Philippe, "Foglio d'Alburn", in: Quaderni dell'lstituto di Studi Paganiniani,

Genoa: Civieo lstituto di Studi Paganiniani, N° 7, October 1993, pp. 37-41.

128

Like the Capriccio per Violino Solo. the Sonata a Violino e Viola requires the simultaneous sounding of all four strings: N. Pegeni ni (senete e Violi no e Viole)

;

~

II

;

~

r--

~ :!!

Violi n

-

tJ

~

Viole

..

[elY1CO

~ :!!

..I

-

..

.r . .r

~

:!!

-

..I

..t

Ist1lulo dl MUSlca N. Paganml, Genoval

The method of bowing described by Paganini enables the violinist to play on four strings without arpeggiation. It thus becomes possible to sustain chords and to play them in succession, legato and pianissimo, as instructed by the composer. The smooth passage of the slackened bowhair across the strings produces a sweet, albeit penetrating sonority reminiscent of the harmonium.f Another of Paganini's "album leaves" must be mentioned

with reference to the technique of sostenuto playing of chords. .It is a short four bar prelude for violin which Clara Wieck pasted in her album of autographs:

---1.

9

-........... ,....--

m

N. Pegeni ni (Prel udio per Violi no) "" "....-

sin I

-

f

'IT

,,6 [ttl. Paschke]

August Kestner, who otherwise could be highly critical of certain aspects of Paganini's performing style, greatly admired his cantabile playing.

The

following observation also appears to make reference to a very perceptive use of the tempo rubato: ..."This is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard, lyrical, played, in long sustained

strokes of the bow, high in the fifth octave.. The highest degree of skill dominated his performance insofar as the master recognised the bar as the basis - covered by the leisurely flow of tones - without ever allowing its structure to come to the surface.',7 ltrl. PXBI

6Garcia, Manuel. Traire cDroplet de rAn du Chant. ed. and transl,by D.Paschke, New-York, Da Capo Press. 1975. vol.II, p.77. 7"Dies war von den schonsten Sachen, die ich jeroalsgehort habe, gesangvoll, in langenBogenstrichen in der funftenOktaveoben vorgetragen...Hier herrschte der hochsteGradvon gewandterErfahrungim Vortrag, worin der Meisterden Takt, als die von dem gemachlichen Gangeder Tone bedeckte Grundlageanerkennt, ohne seinerGliederung irgend ein Hervortreten zu erlauben." Kestner, August. Rorojsche StudieD, Berlin: Verlag der Deckerschen Geheimen Ober-Hofbuchdruckerei, 1850, p. 41.

133

6. Fingering ..." 'His fingering [wrote Gottfried Weber1] which is sometimes unorthodox or, rather, is independent of the laws of fingering, is the result of a deeply reasoned method, and is not a mere caprice, a statement that he probably derived from his personal conversations with Paganini. Fens' reaction was the same: 'his fingering bears no resemblance to that which is usually taught. He will, at times, employ the one finger instead of another, but more often he uses one and the same finger for several notes."2

Following Paganini's concerts in Frankfurt (Autumn 1829), the violinist and conductor Carl Guhr wrote an essay for Gottfried Weber's magazine Cecilia, giving a first account of Paganini's playing.

Further observation and study

resulted in the publication of Ueber Paganini's Kunst. die Violine zu spielen. ein Anhang zu jeder bis jetzt erschienenen Violinschule nebst einer Abhandlung tiber das Flageolettspiel in einfachen und Doppelt6nen,

Based on direct

observation (Guhr conducted the orchestra in most of the Frankfurt concerts) this work constituted, and still constitutes, one of the most valuable sources of information on certain aspects of Paganini's technique, including fingerings, A remark on page 40 of the original 1829 edition confirms Fetis's statement concerning the use of a single finger for several consecutive notes: "Paganini plays very high descending scales with one and the same finger, as is shown in the 4th bar":

C, Guhr (Ueber Peganini's Kunst..., pAO, ex.s)

~ =PXBfr~ml:::~ ~ "3

[trI.PXBl

1Weber, Gottfried (1779-1839), theorist and composer.' From 1824, he edited the famous musical periodical Cecilia published by Schott of Mainz. His study of the theory of music resulted in the publication of the Versuch ejner geordneten Theorje (1821), Allgemejne Musjklehre (1822), Ergebnisse clef bisherigen Forschungen tiber die Echthejt des Mozartscben Requiem etc. Weber asked

Carl Guhr to contribute to Cil?cilia with a technical analysis of Paganini's playing, and supported him in his research. De Courcy doesn't give any bibliographical reference concerning this quotation, but it can be safely assumed that it was taken from Weber's review of Guhr's Cil?ciliaarticle (see infra, footnote 2). 2De Courcy, Geraldine, op. cit., vol. I, p.374. 3"Ganz hohe, heruntergehende Tonleitern spielt Paganini mit einem Finger, wie im 4ten Takt zu ersehen ist: [...l"

134

The descending scale "with one and the same finger" calls to mind the ah-ah-ah of the coloratura singer of which it was perhaps an imitation. In the Yariazioni suI Barucaba [M.S. 71], one of the very few works to contain original fingerings.? Paganini frequently indicates the same finger for two consecutive notes one octave apart, probably to serve an expressive purpose - an analogy to the portando la voce of singers: s

-

Sevcik and Thibaud). 17Sedivka, Jan, Conversations with ph. Borer Hobart, February-March 1995. 18Ricci, Ruggiero, Conversations with Ph, Borer. Accademia G. Veneziano, Bisceglie, July 1985.

138

We owe to Eugene Delacroix, himself an amateur violinist and ardent concert goer, an extraordinary Paganini jouant du violon (1832).1 9 The posture, the manner of holding violin and bow, the expression of intense involvement, all contribute to an evocative and dramatic picture. Delacroix's artistic credo was that technique must be perfected until it never obtrudes on the final effect of spontaneity. He was deeply impressed by Paganini's technique, developed from endless hours of practice. As an artist as well as a violinist, he recognised the true import of seemingly trivial details like the bend of the wrist or the positioning of the thumb across the fingerboard (which he discussed in his Iournal):20

Eugene Delacroix, Paganini jouant du vialan, 1832 (detail)

Eugene Delacroix, Paganini jouant du vialon, 1832(detail of left hand)

With reference to the advanced thumb position alluded to by Prod'homme ("Paganini placait le pouce de la main gauche au milieu du manche"), Mantovani's remark must also be mentioned: "Paganini gave the impression that he always played in the third positionr-) Paganini perhaps eluded the problem of shifting by throwing the hand back and forth, resting the wrist against the violin and using it as a fulcrum.

This

technique seems to have been employed a great deal by Zino Francescatti (c-Sivori >Paganini). 19Delacroix, Eugene. Paganjnj jouant du vjolon, oil on cardboard, 47/30 cm Paris, 1832 (Washington: Phillips Collection). 20See: Delacroix, Eugene, Iournal d'Eugepe Delacroix (3 vcl.), ed. by Paul Flat and Rene Piot, Paris, Plon-Nourrit,1893 (entry of January IS, 1856), 21Mantovani, Roberto (c-Maino). I e Secret de paganjnj methode des methodes de yio!oo Paris: Hachette, c.1922, quoted by Salzedo, S.L, Pagapjnj's Secret at las!' London: Nicholson & Watson, 1946, p.26.

139

The following sketches attributed to R. Hamerton and P. Lyser may also give some clues as to Paganini's left hand action:

Sketchby R. Hamenon King'sTheatre, London, 1831 (detail)22

Sketch by R. Hamertcn King'sTheatre, London, 1831 (detail)

Sketch attributed to P.A. Burmeister (Lyser) Hamburg 183023

Sketch attributedto P,A. Burmeister(Lyser) Hamburg 183024

22The Hamerton sketches appear in: Sheppard, Leslie/Herbert Axelrod, Paganjnt. Neptune City (NJ): Paganiniana Publications, 1979, p,267 and p,508. 23Rep. in: Polnauer, Frederick. Sensa-Motor Study and its Application to Violin Playing. Urbana: ASTA,1964,56. For attribution, see: de Courcy, Geraldine, op.clt.vol.I, pAOO. 24Rep. in: AIIllales de la Chirurgie de la Maill, VlI/4 (1988), p. 337 (copy of article kindly given by Prof. A. Narakas, Lausanne).

140

H.W. Ernst, whose instrumental virtuosity is said to have been second only to Paganini's, also seems to have favoured a rather unconventional left-hand grasp. A cast of his hand in the act of playing provides an opportunity for comparison:

A castofH,W. Ernst's left hand (Musee Massena, Nice)2S

It may be fitting to offer her a more extensive quotation from my discussions with

Dr. Sedivka, who shows a remarkable ability to translate problems of seemingly forbidding complexity into accessible and often relatively simple solutions: "...the employment of the left thumb in chordal playing, whatever the limits of its practical use, shows that Paganini was not exclusively concerned with finding spectacular "tricks" but that he has to be recognised as the true explorer of some as yet unknown instrumental possibilities. It may be helpful to look at various aspects of the presented imagery, in search of significant common denominators. We see, for instance, that, as far as the left hand is concerned, there was no question of the traditional approach of putting the hand in a pre-conceived position (generally with the thumb facing the first finger), before even considering the disposition of the touch-points on the fingerboard. Thus, the function of the thumb is reactive, i.e. adjusting constantly to the finger movements. This, after all, refers to all ordinary movements used in daily life. It is the awareness of, and the focus on the intended aim, which determines the action of the hand. This leads to the conclusion that Paganini had an uncanny understanding of the very fundamental, and ordinary workings of the hand:,26

Paganini's fingerings and the 24 Caprices After the publication of the first edition of the Caprices, Paganini was asked why he had marked so few fingerings. 27 According to Maria Tibaldi Chiesa, his laconic answer was: "Guardate a chi li ho dedicati!" ("See to whom I have dedicated them").28 A similar reproach was made to Claude Debussy who provided the following explanation in the preface to his Etudes: 25Coll. A. Ernst (Courtesy of Archives of the Palais Massena, Nice). 26Sedivka, Jan, Conversations with Ph, Borer, Hobart, March 1995. 27The few fingerings that appear in the manuscript (and faithfully reproduced in the first Ricordi edition) are found in Caprice 1 (b.68), Caprice 2 (b.ll and 49), Caprice 5 (b.l), Caprice 6 (b.l),and Caprice 24 (var.2 and 9). They are practically all related to the choice of string. The only "technical" fingerings are those appended to the scales and arpeggios of Caprice 5. 28"A chi se ne Iagno, Paganini rispose: « Guardate a chi Ii ho dedicari» " TibaJdi-Chiesa, Maria, Paganini. la vita e I'opera Milan: Garzanti, 1940, pAlO.

141

"Quite deliberately, the present Etudes do not contain any fingering; here is briefly the reason for it: to impose a fingering cannot logically suit all hand shapes." Our old Mesters - I want to mention 'our' admirable harpsichordists> never prescribed any fingering, trusting, no doubt, the ingeniousness of

their contemporaries, It would be unbecoming to question this in our modern virtuosos"29 ltrLPXB]

The idea of instrumental compositions "revised and fingered" by eminent performers and teachers is a comparatively recent one. There, the fingerings (and bowings) supplementing the original text are primarily prescribed as an aid for technically difficult passages.

The practical value of such fingered editions,

according to Max Rostal has only a limited life span: "Fingerings, as well as bowings, are generally a very personal matter, for which reason even good

editions have fallen into disrepute,,,30

A resourceful performer may even opt to change a preferred fingering, owing to external factors (broken string, humidity, acoustic conditions, unevenly balanced accompaniment. response of the audience, etc.: "Violin fingerings are as personal as gestures and offer a range of choice and subtletiesalmost as wide as the alternative moves on a chess board, and although in a given situation in either field there seems only to be one best choice; nonetheless the analogy cannot be carried further for in violin playingthe criteriaof appropriateness are many. varied and elusive, whereas in chess, there is but one object - the swift defeat of the opponent.t-! As already mentioned, the only pieces which Paganini carefully fingered were intended for a didactic purpose. Those still in existence are: 1) The Cantabile e Valtz dedicated to Camillo Sivori [M.S. 45J

2) The Variazioni suI Barucaba

dedicated to Luigi Guglielmo Germi [M.S, 71]. Most of the fingerings found in these two compositions are related to tone colour and expression, not to facility of execution. Here is a characteristic example: 29 '1ntentionellement, les presenres Eludes ne contiennent aucun doigte, en void brievement I. raison: imposer un doigte ne peut logiquement s'adapter aux differentes conformations de la main. Nos vieux Maitres, • je veux nornmer 'nos' admirables clavecinistes, - n'indiquerent jamais de doigtes, se confiant, sans doute, al'ingeniosite de leurs contemporains. Douter de celle des virtuoses modernes serait rnalseant" Debussy, Claude, Douze Etudes, dedicated to the memory of F. Chopin, Paris: Durand, 1915, Book I, preface. 3ORostal, Max. Gedanken zur Interpretation der Klavier4VioUn Sooaten von L. van Beethoven Piper & Co.; Munich, 1984, foreword. 31~[enuhin, Yehudi. foreword to: Flesch, Carl. Violin Fingeeng its Theory and Practice London, Barrie and Rockliff, 1960, p.vii,

142

4

4

3

3

[ms. Cas. 5622]

Fingerings. violin hold. and Paganini's "secret" Certain pecularities of Paganini's physique, which were described by his physician and friend Dr Francesco Bennati,32may in part account for his highly individual approach to violin technique, notably in matters of fingerings and posture. Bennati in particular stressed the extreme flexibility of the hands, wrist, and shoulder. Another thing which greatly facilitated his playing, according to the Italian physician, was that his left shoulder was "more than an inch higher than the right."33 This observation leads to the question of the participation of the shoulder in the act of holding the violin.

Paganini, who did not use any chin-

rest, shoulder-rest or pad, appears, according to contemporary sources, to have, on occasions, actively supported his instrument with the upper part of his left shoulder. Here is August Kestner's important statement: "He steps in front of his music stand, taking possession of the place with a commanding countenance;

shortly before, servants had brought in his music. This heightening of his magnificence took place after his return from afar, when he appeared in Rome for the second time. Before that, he himself would carry his music His violin he brought in himself and placed it, as usual, against the left part of his chest, but squeezed it with the upper part of the shoulder in a manner which nobody.had ever seen before, while the fingers of his left hand moved up and down like the long legs of a spider and threw on to the instrument little openings of passages with consummate dexterity, like thoughts passing through the mind, and all this with the artificial, ostentatious posture of a regimental drum-major. His opening piece was, as each time, the same concerto by Rode:3 4 [ttl. by PXBJ 32Bennati, Francesco (1788-1834), studied at the University of Padua. His scientific writings include Du Mecanisme de 13 voix Hymajne pendant Ie Chant. He also collaborated with Savart and

Cagniard-Latour in specialised studies of the vocal chords. 33See: Bennati, Francesco. "Notice physiologique sur le celebre violoniste Niccolo Paganini" in: Revue de Paris, XXVl/17 (May 1931), pp. 52-60. This article is a condensed version of a paper that Bennati read before the French Academy of Sciences in March 1831 (Hjstojre physiolQgiqye et pathologique de NicCQ1Q paganinD

34"Er trill vor sein Violinpult, mit einer Herrschermiene von dieser Stelle Besit.z nehmend. Diener hatten kurz vorher seine Notenblatter hereingebracht. Dieser Zuwachs seiner Magnificenz fand stall nach seiner Riickkehr aus der Ferne, aJs er zum zweiten Male in Rom auftra!. Vorher trug er selbst seine Musikalien herein. Seine Vialine brachte er selbst mit, und setzte sie, wie gewohnlich gegen die linke Seite der Brust, prejJte sie aber mit der Oberschulter auf eine Art zusammen, wie es niemals [emand vorher gesehen hatte, wahrend die Finger seiner linken Hand, wie die langen Beine einer Spinne, sich auf derselben umhertrieben, und kleine

143

The controversy generated by Paganini's technique, his method of fingering and manner of holding the instrument, has given rise to a vast literature of specialised articles, studies, sets of exercises, the avowed purpose of which is the elucidation of his "secret". It may seem somewhat Procrustean to attempt at finding the key of Paganini's artistic achievements in his method of fingering or in his playing posture. However, it must be acknowledged that the "secret" has at least served to encourage, and perhaps, in some cases, even to inspire inquiries that have subsequently shed interesting light on the art of violin playing. This includes: Anders, G.E ..

~icolo

Paganini. Sa vie. sa personne. et quelques mQts sur SQn secret,

Paris:Delaunay.l83 \.

Bromfield, Louis. "Paganini's secret exercise" in: Musical America XXXVI/5 (May 1922) p.5 Tlbaldi-Chlesa, ~Iaria. Paganini.la vita e ]'Qpem, Milan: Garzanti, 1940, p.451-470, "11 Segreto di Paganini" (Chapter XXVI) [Tibaldi Chiesa mentions Aeschylus's 1Ta9Sevcik). The Ladder to Paganinj's Profound Mastery, London: Novello, 1952.

146

7. The elettricismo "At my request, Paganini resolved to choose a motto, as an inscription to the portrait he had given me. He reflected a long time upon this. He suggested several quotations from Dante and Tasso, then finally, with a very pensive expression, he burst out with:

'Bisogna tortesentire per tar sentire!' 'One must feel strongly in order to make others feel'. This personal notion seemed to me extremely suited to the artist.,,1 [trl. PXBJ

To regard music as a vehicle for personal emotion was a widely held attitude amongst 19th century composers and performers. They sought to embody, as it were, their own ideals and passions in their music and cultivated highly personalised, "subjective" compositional and performing styles. It has often been observed that this notion had roots in Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Essay on the True Art of playing Keyboard Instruments, which Beethoven regarded so highly. In his chapter on performance (Part I), Bach sta ted that: "A musician cannot move others unless he too is moved.

He must of necessity feel all the

affects he hopes to arouse in his audience, for the revealing of his own humor will stimulate a like humor in the listener".2 (trl.

W. Mitchell)

Paganini's adherence to the philosophy of "expressive playing" was reflected in his motto bisogna [orte.isentire per far sentire.

It is evident, in his

correspondence, that these ideas preoccupied him. To Douglas Loveday, for example he writes about: "...this faculty which allows the soul of the performer to pass right to the tip of his fingers, in order to translate the emotions into sounds".3

(ttl. PXBJ

l"Paganini entschlof sich auf Olein Ersuchen als Unterschrift zu dem mir gewidmeten Portrait, ein Motto zu wahlen, Lange sann er dariiber nach: mehrere Auspruche von Dante und Tasso wurden von ihm verworfen, bis er endlich, mit nachdenkender Miene, in die Worte ausbrach! 'Bisogna torte sentire per tar sentire!' 'Man muB selbst stark Hrhlen, urn Andere fiihlen zu lassen! Diese, dem Kiinstler pers6nlich geh6rende Ansicht, schien rnir sehr passend zu sein ..." Schottky, J. M., pp. 283-284 (Sandig-Reprint). 2 Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel. Essay on the True Art of playing Keyboard Instruments, trl. by W. Mitchell, London: Euienburg, 1949,p.152. 3"...cette faculte qui fait passer I'ame d'un executant au bout de ses doigts pour traduire en sons les emotions." Paganini, Niccoli>, Letter to Douglas Loveday, Paris, 14 July 1838 (PE 306),

147

In two letters to Luigi Guglielmo Germi, he gave a clue as to the true nature of this "faculty to translate the emotions into sounds", alluding to a sort of burning current of energy which he called elettricismo (electricity): "...The elettricismo I feel in dealing with the magic harmony does me terrible harm; but being back home and near you for a time will prolong my lile.'4

I'd. PXBI

"..Not having played for six months, I can't express to you the anguish I feel at the prospect of the difficulty of having to put myself again in the elettricismo necessary to make people feel!...l am longing for a rest. I am weary and I detest travelling. But finding myself close to London and having given my word, they would sue me if I didn't keep it. The law suit would cost me a Jot according to the blessed laws of this world, so I have arranged to leave on Tuesday, the 16th inst. When I read the sensitive article that you have been kind enough to write about my Achille, I wept for joy, and my son, as touched as myself, shed many tears. He is my consolation. When I am-overcome by my fierce coughing, this dear child wakes up, he gives me succour, comforts me with inexpressible feeling, May Heaven take care of him, as well as of you."S [trl.

PXBI

It is quite plausible that the intensity of his feelings was the source of the projective energy which Paganini called elettricismo.

4.....L'elettricismo che provo neJ trattare la magica armenia mi nuoce orribilmente, rna

rimpatriando e stando vicino a te per del tempo, mi allunghera la vita." Paganini, Niccolo, Letter to Luigi Guglielmo Germi. Manchester, 15 January 1832 (E£.169). s .."Essendo state sei mesi senza suonare, non posso esprimerti la pena che provo di vedere la difficolta di rimettermi nell'elettricismo onde far sentireL.Non veda l'ora di riposarmi. Sono annoiato e detesto iI viaggiare: rna trovandomi vicino a Londra e per parole data alia quale mancando mi formerebbero un processo che mi costerebbe malta salaro stan te Ie bcnedette leggi di queJ mondo, ho fissato di par tire per cola mar ted; sedici del correnre. Leggendo il tenero articolo che ti sei degnato di scrivermi intorno al mio Achille, piansi di gioia. e mio figlio sensibile al pari di me, verso non poche lagrime. EgJi e la mia consolazione. Quando mi prende la fiera tosse, questa caro fanciullo si svsglia, mi soccorre, mi conferta con un sentirncnto inesprimibile: il Cielo me 10 conservi unitamente ate..:' 1\,}. PXBJ Paganini, Niccolo, Letter to Luigi Guglielmo Germi. PariS, 12 April 1833, (PE 189)

148

CHAPTER V

ORIGINS & DEVELOPMENT OFTHE VIOLIN CAPRICE

The term "Caprice" has never readily submitted to precise definition. It has been used in different artistic contexts (musical, pictorial, poetic), and has developed an association with extroversion, unpredictability and exemption from the constraints of established formal rules. For Furetiere, "Caprices are pieces of music, poetry or painting wherein the force of imagination has better success than observation of the rules of art.',l

The term was used in instrumental as well as in vocal music before 1600. One of the earliest references, according to Eric Schwandt, is found in 1561, applied by Jacquet de Berchem to a set of madngals-. In the first half of the 17th century, especially with the works of Girolamo Frescobaldi, the Caprice became more frequently associated with keyboard music. Along with the

ricercar, the fantasia and the canzone, the early 17th century keyboard caprice was a piece of strongly contrapuntal character, even if according to the aesthetics of the seconda pratiica, the rules of counterpoint could be broken and, in certain instances, even ignored for the sake of expressiveness. It implied a certain licence or "caprice" on the part of the composer who, for one reason or another, did not find strict fugue suited to his or her immediate purpose. In a Caprice, the musician could give free rein to what

J.e. Walther called "subiius, fortuitus, animus impetus", i.e. a sudden, spontaneous inspiration.f 1Furetiere, A. Pictionnajre UnjyerseL The Hague, 1690 /R1970. 2Schwandt, Eric. "Capriccio", in: The New Groye Dictionary of Music & Musicians. 1994

edition, voL III, p.758. 3Walther, Johann Gottfried.

Musjcaliscbes I exicoD oder musicalische Bjbliothec Leipzig,

1732, entry "Capriccio".

149

The keyboard Caprice from Frescobaldi to Bach In his Syntagma musicum of 1619, Michael Praetorius eloquently described

the Caprice as: "a phantasia subitanea in which one takes a subject (fuga), but deserts it for another whenever it comes into one's mind to do so, One can add, take away, digress, tum and direct the music as one wishes. However, while one is not bound by the rules, one ought not go too much out of the mode".4 This definition was to be adopted by all composers of keyboard Caprices, including, in the twentieth century, Igor Stravinsky.P In 1624, Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) (c-Luzzaschi) published an epoch-

making collection of twelve keyboard Caprices, entitled

n primo

libN di

Capriccio In the second edition of 1626, which also includes some Ricercari and Canzoni, the composer gave the following instructions: "In those passages which do not apparently conform to the usual rules of counterpoint, one

should .endeavour in the first place to discover the character of the passages, the tonal effect intended by the composer, and the desired manner of performance. These compositions called

Capricci are not so simple In style as my Ricercari; but one must not judge their difficulty until one has practised them well at the instrument, since only through practice will the manner of performance reveal itself."6 [trl. P.Pidouxl

Frescobaldi's observation that the Capricci make greater demands upon the instrumentalist than the Ricercari is quite significant. Whilst the Capricci share some of the characteristics that are usually associated with the

Ricercari and the Canzoni, an essential identifying feature of this genre appears to be the special challenge it presents to the performer. 4 Free paraphrase of : "Capriccio seu Phantasia subitanea: wenn eIner nach seinem eigenen Plesier und gefallen eIne fugam... zu tactiren vor sich nimpt, darinnen aber nicht lange irnmemoriret, sondern bald In eIne andere fugam, wie In den rechten fugen kein Text darunter gelegt werden darff, so ist man auch nicht an die Worter gebunden, man mache viel oder wenig. man digredire, addire, detrahire, kehre und wende es, wie man wolle: und kann In einer solchen Fantasien und Capriccien seine Kunst und artificium ebensowohl sehen lassen: sinterna1 er sich alles dessen, was In der Music toilerabile ist, mit Bindungen der Discordanten, proportionibus etc. ohn einiges Bedenken gebrauchen darff; doch dass er den Modum und die Ariam nicht gar zu sehr uberschreite, sondem In terminis bleibe.' Praetorius, Michael. Svptagma rouLuUy). Member of the 24 Vi%ns du Roy and royal chamber composer. See supra. 20"Sorte de piecede Musique libre, dans laquelle l'Auteur sans s'assujettir a aucun sujet, donne carriere a son genie & se livre a tout le feu de la Composition. LeCapricede Rebel etait estime de son temps. Aujourd'hui les Caprices de Locatelli donnent de l'exercice a nos Violons." Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, Dictionnajre de Musique. Paris, 1768. 21Straeten, E. van der, op. cit., vol. I, p. 240.

156

There is no doubt that, after their publication in 1733, the Caprices of Locatelli did contribute to a widening of the scope of violin technique. However, it was through their subsequent role as catalysts in the creative process revealed in Paganini's own collection of 24 Caprices that they acquired their true lettres de noblesse: the wide tessitura, frequent use of double stops (often for imitative effect), reciprocating arpeggios, brisures, unusual finger extensions, rapid jumps, complex arpeggiated figurations with a fixed note (for pedal or drone effect) are all Locatellian techniques which Paganini used "in naturally expanded and exalted expressive contexts"22. According to I.M. Yampolski, Paganini handled the problems posed by Locatelli with greater boldness than any of his predecessors and completely integrated Locatelli's technical formulas within his own musical perpective: "Locatelli was the first to break the outdated canons and dogmas. In his "Capricci" he transgressed the normal positioning of the fingers on the fingerboard, He used finger stretching and big jumps as an organic method of violin playing. In this way, he stopped the limited use of positions and so doing, he cleared the way for the development of virtuoso techniques. Locatelli used in the most various ways wide fingers dispositions on the fingerboard. Using anatomic and physiological finger particularities, he paid special attention to the finger-stretching method consisting of putting aside the first finger and using the highest positions (up to the seventeenth position)23 He also used the "ricochet" stroke across the strings. Locatelli's "Capricci" gave an impetus to Paganini's creative imagination. He saw the huge artistic potential in these seemingly dry technical formulas."24 [tr!. I. Kortchnoi]

22Neill, Eward, general introduction of his UTtext edition of the Caprices, Milan: Ricordi, 1988, p. VII. 23Yampolski is probably alluding to Caprice 22, bar 32, the highest point of the collection, culminating in the 17th position if played on the E string. If two strings are played in alternation, the passage requires to ascend to 18th or even to 19th position, depending on the fingering, 241IoKaTeJIJIH

nepBbl~ HapymHJ1

"Karrpnax" OH

OT»CHsmHe KaHOHbl Ii ,a:orMbl. B CBOIoiX

npeaeJlbl eCTeCTBeHHoro pacnOJIO>KeHHSI

BblmeJl

naasuea aa rp"~e. npHMeHH/1 pacrsosxy naasuea

sa H

CKaLiKH Ha 60JIbmHe pace T05lHIHl KaK opraHHLlecKHA npHM.cKpl·mH4H(t TeXHHKH. 3TWM OH CHSlJ1

OrpaH"4eHHOe liCnOJIb30BaHHe no:nnU·il':i H TeM caMblM

BHpTyo3Hofi cKpHmitmoH

pacuacrwa nYTb

,l\JlSl Pi\3BH1'lUI

TeXHHKH.JIoKaTeAAH npHMeHA caMbl~ Pa3JUillHbIe Bl-iJtbl

pacnozrscena nansues xa rparpe,

pacmapeaaoro

YlIHTbIBa51 aHaToMo-¢H3HOJlOrHlIeCKwe oc06eHHOCTH CTpOeHI-[5I

naasues pyxa OH oco6oe BHHMaHHe lI~eJU1JI npaeuy paC5I)KKH. OCHOBaHHoMy aa OTBelleHHH nepaoro na.asua. HcnOAb30aaHHKl caMblX BbICOKHX n03Hl..l.H~ (BnJlOTb,l:10 ceuaaznraroa), OH TaK:>Ke npHMeHHJI B 6blCTpOM ,I:1BH:>KeHHH CKaliKH CMblllKa

"Kanpacsr" IlOKaTeJlJlH rpoMallHble

,aaJI TO.llllO&

xyzioscecraeaasre

raopuecxoa

uepes ABe crpyxe; Y,/J,apHbl~ WTpWX "ricochet".

~aHTa3HW IIaraHHHH. nOH5IBmeMY KaKHe

B03MO:lKHCTH TaslTSI B 3THX. Ka.3aJIOCb 6bI

xa nepsua

B3rJISI,I:1, CyXHX

rexmorecxax ¢opMyJlaX," Mostras, Konstantin G" op, cit., p.8 and 9 (LM.Yarnpolski's preface).

157

Caprice Qr Etude? Invoking the authority of Tartini, and inferring from his use of the term

"capriccio" in the Regole per ben suonar il Yiolino, Maria Stolba refers to Locatelli's caprices as "concert etudes", that is compositions whose prime purpQse is public performance, but which also have some relevance as studies. 25 An Etude, be it only an exercise, or a composition with both pedagogical and musical intent, or even a concert piece (Etude de concert), is as a rule, distinguished from other musical forms by the fact that it features at least one consistently recurring problem of a physiological, mechanical or musical nature designed to improve the performer's technical and interpretative skills. 26 From Rousseau's statement in the DictiQnnaire de Musique, it clearly appears that violin Caprices such as those of Locatelli, for example, were used as study material ("Les Caprices de Locatelli donnent de l'exercice

a nQS

ViQIQns"). During the post-Locatellian era, the concept of

"Etude-Caprice" emerged: Franz Benda (1750), Pietro Nardini (1760), Nicolo Mestrino (1781), Antonio Bartolomeo Bruni (1787), Auguste Frederic Durand (c.1790), Federico Fiorillo (1793), Pierre Cavinies (1794), Rodolphe Kreutzer (1796), Wenzeslaus Piehl (1801), Pierre Baillot (1803), Jacques Pierre Rode (1819), Antoine Bohrer (c.1819), and, indeed, Paganini (1820), all wrote collection of violin Caprices with a more or less pronounced didactic purpQse. In the titles the term Etude increasingly appeared in conjunction with that of Caprice: Etude de ViQlon QU Caprices (Benda), Caprices QU etude du viQIQn (Mestrino), Caprices et airs varies en fQrme d'etudes (Bruni), Etude pQur Ie viQIQn fQrmant 36 Caprices (Fiorillo), 40 Etudes QU Caprices (Kreutzer), 24 Caprices en fQrme d'Etudes (Rode), Caprices QU 18 etudes (Bohrer). It must be observed that even Paganini referred to his £4 Caprices as "studies": 25Stolba, Maria, A History of the VioHn Etude to about 1800, PhD diss., University of Iowa, 1965,p. 219. 2&rhe Etude (like the Caprice) does not have a definite, established structure. Depending on the case, it will lend its design to three different types: A-B-A structure of the pre-classical sonata, A-B-A' structure of the "lied" and sometimes the Rondo form.

158

"Prof. Franzoni told me that the Caprices were not originally intended for concert performance and that Paganini considered them as studies. However, to dispel rumours that he was not capable of executing them, he soon decided to play them in concert, in groups of six at a time,'·27 [trl. PXBj

Frescobaldi's early observation that "only through practice will the manner of performance reveal itself" carried a warning. Mastery of the difficulties contained in a Caprice requires long hours of study. Spontaneous, free musical expression and serious study are distinctive - and contrasting aspects of the particular genre.

The finer the balance between these

seemingly antinomic aspects, the greater the artistic achievement. In the preface of his transcription of six Paganini Caprices (op.3), Robert Schumann wrote that: "To no other type of musical compositions are poetic liberties as beautifully suited as to the Caprice.

But if, beyond the lightness and the humour which should characterise it,

profundity and depth of study also appear, then this is really the true mastery.,,28[lrl. PXBI

Schumann's observation was also a token of admiration for a fellow composer who had raised a comparatively minor musical genre to his own extremely high artistic ideals. Never had the term Caprice been so apt, so precise, as it was for Paganini's 24 brief, etching-like pieces. Furthermore, the didactic purpose had never been so ambitious. One could say that Paganini re-elaborated on two contrasting levels the original features of the works of earlier masters. On the one hand, he took virtuosity to an extreme; on the other, he gave his work a formal finish and an artistic distinction which were quite new to the genre of the Etude. 27"U prof. Franzoni rni diceva che Paganini non suonava i suoi Capricd in pubblico perche li considerava studi e non pezzi adatti per concerto. Ma quando gli venne rerito che 10si credeva incapace d'eseguirli, li avrebbe tosto suonati in concerto a gruppi di sei per volta," Conestabile, Count Gian Carlo Vita dj NiccolI> Paganini. ed. by F.Mompellio, Milan: Dante Alighieri, 1936, p.392, n. 1. See also: PE"p.191, note 1. 28"Keiner andem Gattung musikallscher Satze stehen poetische Freiheiten so schon als der Caprice. Ist aber hinter der Leichtigkeit und dem Humor, welche sie charakterisieren sollen, auch Griindlichkeit und tieferes Studium sichtbar, so ist das wahl die echte Meisterschaft/Bchumann, Robert, Studien nach Capricen von Paganini (1832), ed. by E. von Sauer, Frandart, c.F. Peters, p.3.

159

During his stay in Paris, Paganini noted with pleasure that the pupils of the Conservatoire "played Beethoven's works much better after they had studied the Caprices he had written for the violin".29 In later years, he repeatedly expressed his intention of writing a book of instruction for string players. 30 Unfortunately, poor health prevented him from carrying out his plan. If he did not found a school of his own, he became a teacher indirectly as his Caprices constituted - and still constitute - the indispensable study material for the advanced student as well as for the professional player - in the words of Yehudi Menuhin, "a violinist's vade mecum'Y) The greatest performing artists, beginning in the early days with Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst, Camillo Sivori and Joseph Joachim, have adopted them as concert pieces as well as material for daily studies: "My repaired violin encourages me to the study of the Paganini Caprices [wrote Joachim]. Their grand poetic content and originality of composition appear increasingly evident to me.,,32 [trl. PXBJ

i

--.

N. Pagani ni

,..... ~"

Caprice 7 (Bar car.lle)

29Records of the Societe libre de l'Eure, 1833. Report made by M.APetit in the public session of 4 August 1833. (quotedby G. de Courcy, op.cit., vol. II, p.114). 30See: PE 229 (letter to F. Zaffarini); PE 149; Gazette Musicale, Paris ( issue of 23 Janvier, 1840) 31Menuhin, Yehudi. The Music of Man,Sydney: Methuen, 1979, p. 66. 32" Meinereparierte Geige eifert mich zum Studium der Paganinischen Emden an, in denen mir imIner mehr eine groBe Fiillevon Poesie und Originalitatder Composition aufgeht." Joachim, Joseph, Letter to Clara Schumann (20 Mai 1857). Quoted by Moser, Andreas, Geschichte des Yjolinspiels. p.433, n, 2.

160

"

The violin Caprice after Paganini

The topic is a very vast one, and since it has already received some attention elsewhere, notably in Federico Mompellio's "La lezione di Paganini",33 I shall limit myself to one particular, significant aspect.

For various reasons,

Paganini chose, in his op.l, to keep within the strict compass of what could be defined as serious, "legitimate" violin playing.

With the single exception

. of a sparkling left-hand pizzicato in Caprice 24 (var.9), he refrained from using such effects as artificial and mixed harmonics, scordaturas, sostenuto playing on four strings, plucked accompaniment to a melody, right-hand pizzicato etc. One of the major points of interest of the post-Paganinian Caprices lies precisely in the frequent use of such special procedures. One could say that, while virtually all the collections of Caprices and Etudes written after Paganini betray to a greater or lesser extent his influence, they were inspired not so much by the 24 Caprices themselves as by works in

mezzo carattere style such as the Nel cor pill non mi sento, the God save the King, or even by virtuoso procedures which Paganini frequently used in performance, but never wrote down. This is particularly true of the technique of "mixed harmonics", described at length by Carl Guhr,34 and which Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst, owing to his patient, careful observation of Paganini's playing, thoroughly assimilated. According to the tradition passed on by St. Augustine, the sound of the open string, as well as that of its respective natural harmonics, has a "matutinal" quality or character; a note stopped in the ordinary way, on the other hand, is "vesperal", whereas the artificial harmonic belongs to the "magic world".35

The technique of mixed harmonics, i.e. the combination of

stopped notes, natural and artificial harmonics, far from being a mere technical "trick", may, in certain cases, carry serious symbolic overtones. A 33Mompellio, Federico, "La lezione di Paganini" in: NicolO Paganini e jl suo tempo. edited by R. Monterosso Genoa: Citta di Genova, 1982,p.113-164. 34Guhr, Karl. tiber Paganjnjs Kunst die Yjoline zu :wie1en.. Mainz: B. Schott's S6hnen,1829, p, 39. 35See: Breton, Luc, L'Instrument a Cordes dans rOceident Chretien, Limoges: Journal de L'Ensemble Baroque de Limoges, 1995, p.7. (Copy of article kindly given by Prof. Breton)

161

fascinating example is found in Ernst's sixth Etude, applied to Thomas Moore's Last Rose of Summer: "The last Rose"

H'w.Ernst

(Etude n26, var.tv)

(ed. by Ph.B)

-----In 1854, the same Ernst, with brilliant artistic intuition, took the genre of the

Caprice to heights hitherto unsurpassed. Profoundly moved by Schubert's song Der Erlk6nig (he himself had suffered a cruel loss), he committed himself to the task of adapting the piece for his instrument.

The

transcription makes abundant use of techniques such as left-hand pizzicato, mixed harmonics and left-hand tremolo. But its secret signature is of deeper philosophical import: Ernst's Grand Caprice after Schubert's Der Erlk6nig is an example of the suonare par/ante, often alluded to by Paganini. Here, the violin literally speaks Goethe's poem, each string representing in turn the

162

reader, the father, the ailing child, the King of the Elves (in artificial harmonics), while the dramatic ride is suggested throughout by a frantic, tarantella-like staccato:

II

Presto ,

J=

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152

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.

163

In a different register, Casimir-Ney's 24 Preludes of 1847 constituted a breakthrough in the literature for viola. 36

Casimir-Ney (nom-de-plume of

Louis Casimir Escoffier) was listed as "composer and professor" in the

Annuaire des Artistes Francais of 1833.

A very popular and active figure in

Parisian musical circles from about 1841 to 1865, he was, along with Chretien Urhan, one of the most sought-after viola players of his time.

In 1841,

Casimir-Ney was admitted to the Societe Academioue des Enfants

d'Apollon, of which he became the President in 1853. Several of his works were performed there, including his Etudes for viola.

A member of the

Alard-Chevillard Quartet Society from 1845 to 1847 and subsequently of the Alard-Franchomme Society from 1847 to 1866, Casimir-Ney also joined the

Nouvelle Societe de Musique de Chambre, with Camillo Sivori as violinist. Henri Blanchard, the music critic of the Revue et Gazette Musicale, welcomed the publication of the 24 Preludes, giving a short and accurate description: "This work is a collection of studies, virtuoso passages and even melodies, written with excellent musical feeling, which will certainly make an important contribution to viola playing. Nothing has been omitted from this treatise: rational and exceptional fingerings, double-stopping, trills, all possible varieties of bowing, harmonics, the dramatic genre, and even imitative music... Mr Casirnir-Ney has written a work which was needed but which was lacking for teaching purposes.',37 [trl. R. Charnock]

The first numbers are comparatively short, justifying the denomination of "Preludes".

However, as one proceeds through the collection, the pieces

acquire the dimensions and character of true"Etudes de concert", . This applies particularly to Prelude 20, where Casimir-Ney introduces a most interesting passage in right-hand pizzicato followed by an episode in harmonics. The fingering indicated for the pizzicato passage was suggested by Paganini to Berlioz, who. included it in his Traite de J'instrumentation et d'orchestration mod erne of 1843.38

The manner of execution closely

36The manuscripts of n° 1 and 3 are in the possession of the Bibliotheoue Nationale. A reprint edition of the work has been published in New-York by the Editions Musicus in 1961, with notes by Quinto Maganini. 37Quoted in: Laine Frederic, "The strange case of Casirnir-Ney",The Strad magazine, dec.1993,p. 139. 38 [Engl. transl as A trealise on modern instrumentalipn London. 1858, p.21.]

164

resembles guitar technique, which involves laying down the bow and holding the violin against the chest.

In so doing, the thumb, index, middle

and ring fingers are left free to pluck the strings, thus allowing great speed of execution, especially in arpeggio figurations:

~ ~

(p~2 Tempo I .

--

/-

...

•

-.,.

....

I I

arco

L.J I

(Pr.lude n220)

~

~

...-

Casimir-Ne\!,

"

•

L.J L.....J

O~22

.'

.;

I

I

I

W

Francois Hubert Prume (1816-1849) was born at Stavelot near Liege. Showing a considerable talent for the violin at an early age, he was sent to Paris in 1830 to study with Francois Habeneck at the Conservatoire de

Musique. Habeneck, who conducted most of Paganini's Paris concerts during 1831-32, gave his young student the opportunity to attend several rehearsals. Prume thus acquired a unique insight into Paganini's style of playing.

This was the basis for the fabulous technique he subsequently

developed and which is reflected in his Etudes and Caprices, as well as in his at one time popular piece La Melancolie (a premonitory title).

Having

developed an eye condition during a concert tour in Germany, Prume became completely blind.

Overcome by melancholy, he fell into a state of

deep depression which led to his early death in 1849, at the age of 33. The second of his Six Grandes Etudes op.2, subtitled "Duetto pour un seul violon" gives a idea of his phenomenal left-hand dexterity:

-

N22. DUETTO POUR UN SEUl VIOlON

I' II

~

tJ

I

.~~

I

P

.....

--

.. UJ

. . . . : -,

.':-J -

"

-

f. Prume, Six Grendes ttudes, op.2

~

~

165

~

u

u

I.Fiorillo). Etude pour Ie violon fonnant 36 Caprices

1794

Gavinies, Pierre. (>?) 24 Matinees

1796

Kreutzer, Rodolphe (e-Stamirz). 40 Etudes ou Caprices

1796

Pichi, Wenzeslaus (> Nardini). 12 Caprices op.19

1801

Pichi, Wenzeslaus. 12 Caprices op. 46

1803

Baillot, Pierre Marie (>Pollani). 12 Caprices, op.2

1810 (c.)

Durand, Auguste Frederic (e-Viotti). 6 Caprices ou Etudes, op.l5

1805 (c.)

Campagnoli, Bartolomeo (e-Nardini). 7 Divertissements, op.l8 3

1813

Rode, Jacques Pierre (e-Viotti). 24 Caprices en fonne d'Etudes

1815 (c.)

Libon, Felipe (c-Viorti). 30 Caprices. op. 15, (dedicated to G.B.Viotti)

1819

Bohrer, Antoine (>Kreutzer). Caprices ou 18 Etudes, op.59

1820 (c.)

Rovelli, Pietro (>Kreutzer).12 CllPricci

1820

Paganini, Niccoli'>. 24 Capricci, op.1 (dedicated to the Artists)

lEd. by A. Moser and published by Max Hesses, Berlin, 2menrioned in EE. 189. 3 mentioned in EE. 313 and 314.

168

1925.

Michie!

II. Post-Paganinian collections'[ date of publication

1827 ?

1830 1833

Lipinski, Karol. 3 Caprices, opJ (dedicated to Paganini) Maurer, Ludwig. 9 Etudes ou Caprices op.39. Mayseder, Joseph. 6 Etudes, op.29. Garcia, Manuel. Caprichos Liricos Esraiioles, dedicados it los aficionados(songs) Schumann. Studien far das Pianoforte nach Capricen von Paganini. op.3 (piano) Chopin, 12 Etudes. op.1O (piano)

1835 (c.) 1840 (c.)

1845 (c.)

1847 1850 (c.) 1851

Saint-Lubin, Leon de (>Polledro). 6 Grands Caprices Lipinski, Karol. 3 Caprices op. 29, (dedicated to Mr Gustav Adolph Bernard) Mazas, Jacques Fereol (>Baillot). 18 Etudes d'Artiste Prume, Francois (>Habeneck) 6 Grandes Etudes op.2 De Beriot, Charles (c-Robberechts). Six Etudes brillantes, op.l7 Alard, Delphin (>Baillot). 24 Etudes-Caprices dans les 24 tons de la Gamme Wanski, Jan Nepomucen (c-Baillot). Caprices Prume, Francois, 6 etudes ou caprices de concert op.14 Vieuxremps, 6 ElUdes de concertop.16 Dont, Jakob (>Bohm).24 Etudes et Caprices, op.35 Casimir-Ney, Louis. 24 Preludes pour l'alto viola, op.22 (dedies aux Artistes) Giorgetti, Ferdinando (>Giuliani). Sei Studi per violino per servire di esercizio preliminare a Quelli di Paganini, op.28 Paganini, Niccolo, Etudesen 60 Variations sur l'air Barucabil Liszi, Grandes Etudes de Paganini transcrites pour le piano

1852 1854 1865 ? 1870

? 1880 (c.) ? 1890 (c.) 1893 1908 (c.)

1929 1970 1976

Deldevez, Edouard (c-Habeneck). Six Etudes caprices, op.13 Wieniawski, Henri (c-Massart). "L'EcoleModerne", 9 Etudes-Caprices, op.10 Ernst, HeinrichWilhelm. 6 Mehrstimmige Etiiden, Hamburg Casimir-Ney, Louis. 18 Caprices for violinon the G string (dedicated to C.Sivori) David, Ferdinand. 6 Caprices. op.9 and 26 Caprices, op.39 Dancla, Charles. 20 Etudes brillantes et caracteristiQues. op. 73. Abel, Ludwig.o-David). Sechs groBe EtUden nach motiven aus Wagners Opern Sivori, Camillo (>Paganini).l2 Etudes-Caprices, op. 25 (dedicated to H. Leonard) White, Joseph (>Alard) 6 Etudes Ondricek, Franz (Bennewitz), 15 Etudes d'artiste Petri, Henri. (c-Joachim) 5 Kiinstler-Ettiden, op.9 Viardot, Paul (sl.eonard) 9 Etudes caprices, op. 13 Saurer, Emile (:>De Beriot) 24 grandes Etudes-caprices, opJ6 Villa-Lobos. Heitor. 12 Estudos (guitar) George Rochberg. CapriceVariations Sciarrino, Salvatore. 6 Capricci

4Collections of Caprices for instruments other than the violin appear in italics.

169

Miscellaneous Ca~rices date of pubUcation

1624

Frescoba1di, Girolamo (>Luzzaschi). n ~rimo 1ibro dj Capricci (keyboard)

1626

Marini,Biagio. Capriccio per sonardue vjo1ini a quattro patti

1627

Farina, Carlo.Capriccio stravagante (violin with string accompaniment)

1704

Bach, J. S. Ca~riccio

1705

Rebel, Jean-Fery (>Lully). Le Caprice(violin and basso ostinatoj''

1828

Paganini, Niccoli>. Ca~riccio a quattro corde (solo violin)

1832 (c.)

Schumann,Clara. Ca~rices en forme de valse, op.2 (piano)

1835

Mendelssohn, Felix. Three Ca~rices, op.33 (piano)

1839

Berlioz,Reverie et Caprice(Romance), op.8 (violin & orchestra)

1854

Ernst, H. W. Grand Caprice 0~.26 nach Schubert's Erlkonigfsolo violin)

1870

Tchaikovski, Piotr llyich. Ca~riccio in G flat mitior (piano)

1870 (c.)

Vieuxtemps, Henri. Capriccio pour alto seul, op.posth.

1879

Brahms, Johannes, Ca~rices op.76, n° 1-2-5-8,and op.1l6, n" 1-3-7 (piano)

1880

Tcnaikovski, Piotr Ilyich, Italian Ca~riccio (orchestra)

1887

Rirnsky-Korsakov, Nicolai. S~anjsh Capriccjo (orchesrrajf

1909

Busoni, Ferruccio. Introduzionee Capriccio (piano)

1911

Kreisler, Fritz (e-Massart), Recilativo und Scherzo-Ca~rice, op.6 (solo violin)

1929

Stravinsky, Igor. Ca~riccio (piano& orchestra)

1935

Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Capriccio diaboljco (Omaggioa Paganini)

1942

Strauss, Richard. Capriccio. op. 85 (one act opera)

1979

Gaudibert, Eric. (>Dutilleux) Capriccio (solo violin)

1982

Vaclav Kucera, Capriccia pro housle a kytaru (hommage 11 Paganini) (violinand guitar)

1983

Schnittke, Alfred. A Paganini (solo violin)

so~ra

la 10nlananza del fratello di1ettissimo (keyboard)

******* 5From the opera~. 6Based on a projected "Fantasy on Spanish themes" for violin & orchestra. In his memoirs, Rimsky defined his Spanjsh Capriccio as "a work of virtuosity in orchestral colours and timbres",

170

APPlENDIX A

SAMPLE ANALYSES

An analysis of all 24 Caprices, both individually and in their relationship with one another, has the potential of rich rewards. This, however would necessitate extending the scope of the present dissertation unreasonably. However, sample analyses of 6 Caprices (1-4,9, and 18) are offered in order to illustrate distinctive features of Paganini's compositional style which have been sources of inspiration for other musicians.

171

CAPRICE 1 "A formidable visiting card,,1

~ ..

..

A very important study for both right and left hand, and a highly musical virtuoso piece, Caprice 1 ideally combines the two aspects essential to this particular genre. It is in the key of E major and is 76 bars long. The timesignature is 2/4. The musical materials are reciprocating arpeggios on four strings, triple-sound chords and rapid scales in thirds. The demiserniquavers of the arpeggios give the illusion of a very fast tempo. However, it is the harmonic rhythm (one change per half bar) which gives its walking pace to the piece. Form and harmony Caprice 1 can be divided into three sections A (b. 1-16), B (b.16-52), and C (b. 5276). Section A (b. 1-16) : E major. Here and there, the flow of the reciprocating arpeggios is punctuated by two ascending serniquavers: N. Pegeni ni (Ceprice 1)

1 ''...quel primo, rnusicalissirno, elegante Capriccio in mi maggiore che e un formidabile biglietto da visita..," Cantil, Alberto, "I 24 Capried op.1 per violino solo" in: Incontri con la Musiea di Paganjni. atti del 5eminario di studi a cura dell' Istituto di 5tudi Paganiniani, Genoa: Comune di Genova, 1982.

172

The harmonies are simple, clear, and resonant.

The section ends with a

cadence altenating single notes and triple sound chords.

Paganini uses

subdominant harmony before the cadential six-four chord.

The full

progression reads as follows:

(ed.by PXB)

Section B (b. 16-52) is characterised by high virtuosity of harmonic and instrumental treatment. Starting in E minor, it modulates to G major in bar 22: N. Pagani ni (Caprice 1)

(13th)

The interval of thirteenth (b'-g"') in the second half of bar 22 has been deliberately changed to d"-g'" in many modem editions, probably for facility of execution. However, in the original disposition the arpeggio is more resonant. Bar 26 culminates on g"" (the highest note of the piece). The triplet scales in thirds appear for the first time in bar 27:

This is followed by an extraordinary sequence which rises chromatically through all keys from G right through 0 flat. The grand pause of bar 44, just before the resolution of V7 /Vlb, heightens the dramatic tension:

173

The method of modulation applied in bars 32-43 is known as "Paganini's rosalia".2 The tonic of each degree of the sequence is followed by its parallel minor. This is in turn followed by a VI chord in the tonic minor which is enharmonically re-spelled to become the V chord of the next degree of the sequence.I 2The term rosalia, according to Charles Burney (quoted in Grove) is derived from the name of a saint, famous for repealing her Pater Noster and telling her beads. "Upon hearing a string of repetitions either a note higher or a note lower, of the same passage [writes Burney], an Italian cries out: «Ah, Santa Rosalial-". 3Enharmonic re-spelling occurs in bars 35 and 39.

174

After the pause of bar 44, the arpeggios recommence piano in D flat major and move to the parallel minor re-spelled as C# minor in bar 46.

After a fleeting

passage through A major and B major, the section cadences on the original tonic (E major) at bar 52. Section C (b.52-76): two pairs of parallel periods lead to the coda: 52

N. Pagani ni (Caprice 1)

-

~ ~ I

I

(sd. by PXB)

IV

(ed. by PXB)

IV

The progression I

~

IV minor, with the resulting reiteration of the flattened

sixth degree, signals the approaching conclusion. In bar 66, several editors, including Bachmann, Becker, Berkley, Flesch, Ghertovici, Hertel, Kross, Polo, Poltronieri, von Reuter, Schmidtner, and Wronski have added a natural in front of the c'.

This does not exist in the manuscript, the first Ricordi edition,

or the Massart edition (Paris, Schonenberger, 1851). Nor does it appear in the Schumann version with piano accompaniment:

175

N.

P~q~ni

ni

(C~price

1)

Piano ace. by R. Schumann

v The change from C# to C natural, which has roots in Liszt's piano transcription for piano (3rd version, 1851) transforms the original diminished seventh chord into a German sixth:

~ IV 3 (German)

The last episode, or coda (bar 68-76), starts with a winding down of the arpeggios over a tonic pedal (open E string):

In bars 72 and 73, Paganini twice embellishes the tonic with the Neapolitan. The resulting chord could perhaps be analysed as IV6#/ IV:

176

The arpeggio technique Remy Principe has compiled a comprehensive list of all the bow strokes utilised in classical violin playing which is, to my knowledge, the clearest exposition of its kind, especially as far as terminology is concerned.t

The traditional term

for the technique utilised by Paganini in Caprice 1 is, simply, arpeggio: it describes the bouncing of the bow across the four strings as it moves back and forth. Here is, given by Carl GOOr, a brief description of Paganini's execution of the arpeggio: "He knows how to give great precision and roundness to his arpeggio; here, he doesn't quite use the middle of the bow:

~. ••

••

5

- RELATED WORKS -

Sources Several technical devices used by Paganini find their origin in the works of Pietro Locatelli (1693-1764). To trace and evaluate Locatelli's influence, it is only necessary to compare his own set of capricess with those of Paganini. Thus, in the opening bars of Locatelli's seventh caprice : the arpeggio movement is identical in tonality and note values to Paganini's Caprice 1;

the chord

progression also is similar: P. Locstelli (Ceprtccio N27)

Moderato

.~ 4Principel Remy. n Violinoo mao yale di cultura e didattica violoojstica. Milan: Curci, 1951,

p. 112-118. 5"Grosse Fertigkeit und Rundung weiss er seinern Arpeggio zu geben. Er gebraucht hier nicht ganz die Mitte des Bogens".Guhr, Karl. Dber Paganinis Kunst die Vjoline zu spielen, Mainz: B. Schott's Sohnen,1829, p.ll. 6Locatelli, Pietro, L'Arte de! Yiolino. 12 Concerti con 24 Capricd ad libitum, op.S, Amsterdam: Le cene. 1733.

177

Locatelli's left hand technique must have been remarkably advanced; the following chord progressions, with their unusual finger combinations are particularly interesting: 23

2

Even Paganini seldom wrote chords which necessitate such contortion of the

~~ ~23JM!!1f Transcriptions of Caprice 1 Liszt's famous transcription of Caprice 1 had several avatars before its final version of 1851, which keeps Paganini's text practically intact? As Ian Altman shrewdly remarks: "Formally, the piece cannotbe improved upon. It took Liszt three versions to decide this for

. himself." LiS2t- Pegeni ni (Ar eggio Study) 2

mg. (final version, 1851)

[Liszt's own fingerings]

This final version was published as N° 4 of the Grandes Etudes de Paganini transcrites pour Ie piano et dediees it Madame Clara Schumann (Breitkopf & Hartel, 1851). Reuss' edition, in which three versions of Liszt's transcription are printed side by side, constitutes the ideal tool for comparison. 7See supra, Chapter I, 4. Paris 1831, Paganini and Liszt. 8Altman, Ian Henry. Liszt's Grand Etudes after Paganinj' a historjcal and analytical study, DMA diss University of Cincinnati, 1984, pp.149-S0.

178

CQmpQsitions inspired by Caprice 1

If Schumann did not include Caprice 1 in his Paganini Studies op.3 and 10, he used reciprocating arpeggios in several of his works for piano, including the third variation Etudes symphooiques Qp.13:

far. III U i vace

J~ 6.3

R. Schum8~n .< ttude3 Symphonique3

(ed.byPXB)

TQ ensure that he wrote appropriately for the violin, Mendelssohn, when working Qn his E minor concerto, sought the advice of Ferdinand David. The Leipzig concertmaster, himself the author of an early edition of the Caprices'', was eager to discuss and analyse the various techniques used by Paganini. The famous arpeggio passage at the end of the first movement is clearly linked to Caprice 1:

9Published by Breitkopf&Hartel,Leipzig (c.1843).

179

Among the more recent quotations of Caprice 1, one must mention Salvatore Sciarrino's Capriccio N°1 (1976), a difficult work written almost exclusively in harmonics:

Finally, I would like to bring to attention the musical symbolism related to the figure of Pierrot, via the French pantomime and the Pedrolino of the

Commedia dell'Arte, used by both Debussy and Schoenberg:

Fantasqu" "t

1e9""

IItIlib. qUasiclltlefl.:.""8

C. Debussy (G minor S~sts)

~i~~ A. Schoenberg (P~

Mllll~I~Y~ . . . . . Fliessend"

(ed, by PXB)

180

CAPRICE 2 ~

'II

1111

~L"':'" ~" .."~

L

II- II- II- II-

L

11."'-"'"

.

..... 1...........

'da2d Caprice 2 is written in two-part counterpoint and is 84 bars long. The key is B minor, with a time-signature of 6/8. Paganini indicates dolce in two instances (bars 1 and 67), srnorzando in bar 49, and piano in bar 51. There are no other dynamic indications. Form. counterpoint. and harmony The piece can be divided into three sections A (b.1-34), B (b.35-66) and C (67-84). Section A (b.1-34): B minor until bar 15. One voice stays level while the other draws a melancolic, chromatically inflected melodic line (see caption figure ). The chord of the augmented sixth makes a first appearance in bar 8:

~ L II-

8 11

,

II-

N. Pa9anini (Caprice 2) rr>. II- !: !:!:I!: ~!:

I.

.

III

* Paganini employs augmented sixths freely, often to great emotional effect. Here, the descending figure d-c#-b-g-e# could be defined as a combination of a French and a German sixth. Before the corona, the chord reappears in its more stark Italian version: 13 II

~.

d"

~.

d"

"

t

I I

I

I I

. I

I

181

C1I. ~ " I

N Pa9a01.. 11-1. 01 (Caprrce 2) ~

!:

•

'"

" "

Ced. by

PXB)

From bar 16, the key changes to D major. After an harmonic sequence of very beautiful effect (b. 20-24), the two voices change from oblique to parallel motion, over an open string pedal: N. Pegeni ni (Caprice 2)

.-,

The widest interval between the two voices in the whole Caprice is reached in bar 29: r--iLN.Pegeni ni (Caprtce 2) I!: ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~

29

~

II II

~

~

~

~ ~

-=

~ ~

~ = =~

~ ~

(ed. by PXB)

II.

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I

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-= ~ I

~

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===

I

r

r'

I

~

~

I-

I-

~

=.--

19th

Section B (b.35-66) which starts in B minor is highly chromatic in its melodic as well as harmonic treatment.

Constant reference is made to the semitonal

inflection b-a#-b of the opening statement, which becomes, as it were, the idee

fixe of the section:

3;

I

~

.

•

;::e'

U

~

G'

II.! hJ"

, , , " ' ... , .......

N.Pegeni ni (Ceprice 2)

II. II. II. II.

I." I." I.

r IIr r

1"1"

I

In bars 51-54, a pair of chromatic scales is formed by the succession of ascending minor thirds. The serniquaver figuration of Chopin's B flat minor Etude, said to be an allusion to the wanderings of Orpheus in the Underworld, comes to mind: N. 1

tJ

I

Peg~ni

ni (Ce~rice,2)

L.I~.. h.." I...l.~

~p'

F. Chopin Wude 6)

8

182

In the second part of bar 54, the minor thirds start a descent, taking the form of

diminished sevenths falling chromatically. The change from g# to g natural at the end of bar 58 alters the diminished seventh to a German sixth: N, Pegeni ni (Caprice 2) =" (.d. )y PXB)

IV~# 3

From bar 58 to 61. Paganini introduces an episode in double counterpoint, over an implied dominant pedal.! N. Pagani ni (Ceprice 2)

(double counterpoint)

58

1":7""""\

Section C (67-84) begins dolce, with a recapitulation of the theme (b.67-70), followed by a graceful harmonic sequence, and an arpeggiated German sixth:

71 II' iI

.~

N. Paganini (Caprice 2)

~,~.""--,,

. r--- .

. "r-:-~

tJ 6#

IVS

3

The minor thirds of bars 51-54 reappear before the conclusion, but, this time, descending in retrograde motion: 78 r----

N. Paganini (Caprice 2)

..

.

.M

118~ lJ

-l

~

.~.~ ~ !:::

~.~

f-. f-

.

. .0

rt>;

.-

IL

,..

IL

'fI

lSchumann's piano accompaniment keeps the f# at the bass throughout bars 58-61.

183

IL

. .

,.. •

~.

~

The technique Qf the brisure Caprice 2 requires a skillful handling of the bow, Large intervals whose notes occur on non-adjacent strings must be played without allowing the bow to touch the intermediate strings. This technique is often referred to as brisure, a term used by Pierre Baillot in his L'Art du ViQIQn. The following definition of the brisure is given by Michel Brenet in his DictiQnnaire Qf 1926: "A manner of

performance in violin music which requires a special dexterity in the management of the bow, which must skip from one string to another non-neighbouring string"2 [tr. PXBj Carl Guhr observed that Paganini executed the brisure in separate strokes as well as in

legato: "Heskipsoverstrings with certainty andclarity, also in slurred passages, for example:

II

•

.

,~--h· I

.

II'

I

. I

e--h·

II'

,

.

C1~

~

.

i"""'-.

~ ~

I

N.ll.

N.ll.

..

.

~

,

'3 [lrl. PXBj

Transcriptions of Caprice 2 Robert Schumann's transcription of Caprice 2, which appeared in 1835 as N°S of his 6 Concert-Etiiden nach Capricen yon Paganini (op.IO), brings out the more subtle character of the piece: that of a tranquil and introspective barcarolle: R. Schumann (Concert-EtUde nech Pegeni ni N25)

(.d. by PXB)

2"Formule d'execution dans la musique du violon ... exigeant une dexterite speciale dans Ie maniement de l'archet, qui doit passer d'une corde a une autre corde non voisine." Brener, Michel, DjctionDajre pratique et bistoriqye de la musique. Paris: A.Colin, 1926, p.43. 3"Mit Sicherheit und Deutlichkeit uberspringt er, in geschliffenen Satzen, Saiten, Z.B [...]"Guhr,Karl. Dber PaganiDis Kuost..., Mainz: B. Schott's S6hnen,1829,p.1l, ex.lS.

184

To keep the steady flow of the semiquavers undisturbed by jerks of the hand, the transcriber sometimes moves the lower voice up an octave: R. Schumann (Conce~ nsch Paganini N!5) 8 11

". ~ !: ~ !:.~" ~

I'

n

(ed. by PX8)

~!.~.~

~

IV~#

I

~

3

~

~

-

i~

II

r'

~I

$

Schumann harmonises with great care and feeling, remaining both respectful of Paganini's intentions and true to his own romantic inclinations. Thus, his favourite progression IV!#I

I:/II~,

which he uses with such compelling effect

at the beginning of the Manfred Quvertiire. makes an appearance at bars 86 and 89:4 R. Schumann (Ccncert-Etlide nach Pagani ni N!5) 86

(ed. by PX8)

II~ V Although Schumann did not review his own compositions in his journal, he made an exception for his op. 10 (which he discusses as the work of Paganini). About his Concert-EtUde N° 5. he wrote: "In No.5 [transcription of Caprice 2], I intentionally omitted the expression marks. leaving

students to find out its heights and depths for themselves. This will afford a good opportunity . for testing the scholar's power of comprehension'P [tr. by F. Ritter] 4schumann, Robert. Manfred Oyyertjire, op.llS, b. 2. Owing to the key of E flat minor, the 6\

progression reads: rvg Langsam.

6

6

1141 II 5.

It reappears at the end of the overture, at bar 1 of the

S"ln N° 5 UeB ich geflissentlich alle Vortragsbezeichnungen aus, damit der Studierende Hohen und Tiefen sich selbst suche. Die Auffassunggskraft des Schillers zu priiien, mochte dies Verfahren sehr geeignet scheinen." Schumann, Robert. Gesa=elte Schrjfte tiber Musjk und MU5jker Berlin: Wegweiser Verlag, 1922, p.165.

185

CAPRICE 3

~:t .".

Form and harmony The form of Caprice 3 is A - B - A' (Prelude, Corrente, Postlude) A (b. 1-24) is a long, soulful melody in octaves, to be played sostenuto.

The

semitonal inflections, in particular the leaning on the Neapolitan (b.14 and 18), accentuate its elegiac character:

The two voices forming the octaves fuse in unison at the end of the section: N. Pagani ni (Caprice 3)

*'

)f\

: t ~

~ *

.".

w

lSeveral editors have changed the f of bar 14 into an f#, thus tampering with Paganini's implied harmonic progression II 6\/ I:/V. However, the f natural is clearly indicated in both the manuscript and the first Ricordi edition.

186

B (b.25-102) is a very fast 3/8 Corrente in sustained legato bowing. Paganini's original slurs require enormous phrasing capacity:

25

N. Pa9anini (Caprice 3)

--. .

'P~lJto _-----

.

.

.

(ed. by PXB)

The systematic employment of appoggiaturast»), often on unaccented subdivisions of the beat, charges the flow of semiquavers with expressivity. This higly chromatic treatment of the melodic line also creates a degree of tonal ambiguity, by doubling, as it were, the original key with its immediate neighbour.

Thus, in bars 46-48, the descending B major scale brings in its train,

like a fidus Achates, the scale of A# major: ----.....

~. 11-1.

I

~

N. P.!!!ani ni (Caprice 3)

,-,t--- -J . ,

. . . . .

---.-._

. .

lJ Il!IItIm ... II

II

It•

.J

u

J.,

It..

tJ(PX.dit.)

II

I

.. [Ref: N. Paganlnl, Capnce 3, b.46-4Bl

Modulation is an element of variety which Paganini handled in masterly fashion. Thus, in the space of forty bars 51-92, he changes from B major (b. 51) to B minor (b.53) and successively modulates to G major (b. 58), C major (b.63), G major (b.88), B flat major (b. 77), E flat major (b.88), B major (b.90), to finally return to E major at bar 92.

At bar 99, another "double-scale" (D# major

following in the steps of E major) leads into the outer wing of the tryptich (A' or Postlude): ~-------._.

.i.

11-1.

I

-I.

N. Pagani ni (Caprice 3)

-····.10~~.

".

~

f

187

~

...

Double trills in octaves and unisons A 'rather reticent criticism of Paganini carne from the German musicographer Georg Ludwig Sievers, who attended a concert given in February 1825, at Rome. Here is a short excerpt of his review, in which mention is made of Paganini's playing in octaves: ..."Paganini's playing is well known outside Italy, by report. His performance on the G string reveals indefatigable industry, but it lacks the ultimate finish, The same is true of his octaves, which he plays much better than the other violinists. But here too the finishing touch is wanting. He even trills in octaves, though the trick does not always come off. "2 [de Conrey's transl]

There has been much controversy as to who first employed the method of playing octaves with 1-3 and 2-4 instead of 1-4.

Both Carl Flesch and Eugene

Ysaye thought that Paganini should be credited with this "invention": "Paganini [Carl Flesch writes] was probably the first to use the octave fIngering If3 and 2/4 . Possibly even the so-called 'secret' of this hero of the violin is based on the study of this fIngering. At any rate, it is no longera secret to anyone today, that practisingfingered octaves for ten minutes does as much for the violinist as a half hour of ordinary practising.v-' Itt. B. Schwarz]

"In my first youth [Eugene Ysaye writes], at the Conservatoire, fingered octaves were scarcely, or not at all used; neither Vieuxtemps nor Wieniawski wrote them; it is only in Paganini and

Ernst that they are found."4 Itr, de Ribaupierre] Ysaye was a pupil of both Vieuxtemps and Wieniawski.

His interesting

statement concerning these two masters cannot therefore be doubted. Vet, evidence exists that Paganini was not the first violinist to play fingered octaves or double trills in octaves. An example of their earlier employment is found, for example, in Andreas Romberg's Sonata op. 32. NQ 2 (c. 1800).5 On the other 2Quoted by de Courcy, Geraldine, cp.cit., YoU,p.238 (According to de Conrey, the review was published in the Mainz magazineCrcilia). 3F1esch, Carl. Violin Fingering, its Theory and Practice, London: Barrie and Rock1iff, 1966. p. 234. See also, by the same author "Apropos Paganini's Secret" in: The Strad L (September 1939), pp.205-207. 4Eugene Ysaye. Ames Maltres Vieuxtemps et Wieniawski, Dix Preludes pour Violon Seul (op. posth.), Bruxelles:Schott, 1962, p.30. 5Romberg, Andreas Jakob (1767-1821), German violinist and composer. His compositions

188

hand, the double trill in unison which appears in bars 24 and 112, is no doubt, the first specimen of its kind in the whole violin literature (and perhaps the only one): N. Pagani ni (Caprice 3) 23 'Ir.

4r.

~

'"

~!

4r

Carl Flesch judges its execution "not without danger for a normal hand'v, while Forizel von Reuter flatly dismisses it as unplayable ("nicht ausfiihrbar").7

Several editors, including Singer, Polo, Berkley, Ghertovici,

and Wronski suggest to trill on the D string only:

""

~ According to contemporary reports, Paganini played entire melodic episodes in unisons (which he perhaps executed with the 1-3 and 2-4 fingering): "One cannot imagine how much he has augmented and perfected the techniques to approximate the human voice. One knows, for example, that to achieve the expression of pain, one plays the same note on two different strings simultaneously (unison). To this day, this has only been an isolated case, only a fleeting accent. Paganini, with such sounds, has succeeded in creating entire lyrical phrases whose effect is so sweet, so penetrating and moving, as to recall these beautiful women's voices in which it is said there are tears.',8 [or. PXB & L.O]

include 23 violin concertos, quartets, several operas, and six symphonies, Andreas Romberg was the cousin of the fames cellist Berhard Romberg, the dedicatee of Caprice 19 in Albi Rosenthal's list (see Chapter Ill.A quotation from the Sonata op. 32 N° 2 can be found in: Stowell, Robin. Violin technique and performance practice in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Cambridge: C.U.P.,1985,p.332 . 6Carl Flesch, op. dt., p.158. 7paganini, Niccolo. 24 Caprices revised by Florizel, Leipzig: Eulenburg, 1924, p.13. S"Onne se figure pas combien il a augmente et perfectionne les precedes techniques pour se rapprocher de la voix humalne.. On sait, par exemple, que pour parvenir 11 une expression de douleur, on prend simultanement la meme note sur deux corde differentes (l'unisson): jusqu'ici ce n'avait ere qu'une indication isolee, qu'un accent transitoire; Paganini, avec des sons de cette nature, est parvenu 11 former des phrases entieres de chant, dont l'effet, tant iJ est doux, penetrant et pathetiques, rappelle ces belles voix de femmes dans lesquelles on dit qu'Il y a des larmes". Imbert de Laphaleque, G. Notice sur Ie celebre violiniste Nicolo PaganinL Paris E. Guyot,I830,

p.17,

189

Twentieth century performers & Caprice 3 If played on two neighbouring strings (D and A, as prescribed by the majority of

editorsi.? bars 55 and 56 require an unusual extension between the first and fourth fingers (interval of the 13th). Here is Ruggiero Ricci's comment.U' .."Many of Paganini's unusual technical combinations are directly traceable to his guitar playing. The chord progressions in the first Caprice constitute a striking example: these unusual finger combinations would appear devilishly intricate to a violinist trained 'traditionally', but they might have seemed even commonplace to someone who had played the guitar. In certain cases, Paganini might have applied the hand position of the guitarist to the violin, and this, in my opinion, is the way in which many stretches should be played. For example:

N. Pagani ni (Caprice 3)

;

,r-..,

soHo voe. (.0 PXB)

2.schumann's own expression: "... die dichteren deutschen Mittelstimmen" op. cit. ~ p. 163.

195

Apropos of the transcription of Caprice 4, Schumann noted in his journal:

"...In the working out of Nr.4, the Funeral March from Beethoven's Eroica Symphony floated before me. Perhaps others will guess as much. This entire number is filled with

romanricism.vPaganini had the greatest admiration for Beethoven and, as Geraldine de Courcy finely observes, put him "at the summit of his musical Olympus".4

An unmistakable reference to the Marcia Funebre of the Eroica appears in one of his later works, the 4th Concerto in D minor. The quotation appears in the opening bars of the 2nd movement.

In bar 5-6, the motif, presented as a liberal

inversion, is coloured by an expressive diminished seventh:

Adagio fIehile ~concerto)

~==~m 5

5

Interpretation - fingerings "Over a prolonged period 1 was fortunate enough to frequently hear this great master constantly and to discuss with him the manner of his playing", Carl Guhr wrote in the preface of his treatise. 6 In the chapter entitled "PAGANINISCHE TOURS DE FORCE", 3Sei der Ausfiihrung Yon Nr. 4 schwebte mir der Totenmarsch aus der heroischen Symphonie von

Beethoven vor, Man wiirde es vielleicht selbst finden. - Der gauze Satz ist voll Romantik." Schumann, Robert. Gesammelte Schriften jiberMusik und Musiker. Berlin: Wegweiser Verlag, 1922, p.165. 4De Conrey, Geraldine, op. cit.,VoU, p. 13. 5The unusual tempo marking (Adagio jlebile) refers to Ovid's Metamorphoses (Book Xl, 50-53): •...membra iacent diversa locis; caput, Hebre, lyramque excipis, et (mirum!i, media dum labitur amne, [lebile nescio quid queritur lyra, jlebile lingua murmurat exanimis, respondent [lebile ripae. "...the limbs of the poet lay scattered; his lyre and head, Hebrus, thou didst receive, and (marvel!), while floating in the stream, the lyre gave forth some tearful notes, the lifeless tongue muttered a tearful message, and the river banks echoed tearfully." [tr.PXBj 6Guhr, Karl. Dber Paganinis Kunst. die Violine zu s.,jelen, Mainz: B. Schott's Sohnen,1829, p.I.

196

one finds the following quotation of Caprice 4: C. Guhr (Ueber P8g8ni ni'3 Kunst...p.44, ex.20) 30 .~'" 2

.. ~ ...

1

1

1

r:,' ~.....l

1 1

3 3

1

1

1

Sua ---,

..

r"

_--

It is quite possible that Carl Guhr had the privilege of a private audition of

Caprice 4. The above example is therefore of great interest to the performers in so far as it is not identical with either the manuscript or the first Ricordi edition. The divergences from these two sources are marked with an asterisk.

197

Caprice 9 "...Ia nuance seule fiance Le riue au riue et /a flute [au cor!"

(P.Verlaine)l

~~tuJ SullaTastiera imi1aIUlo UPlall1D ..••.•..•••.•.......•..••.••..••.

Paganini's famous ninth Caprice (known as "The Hunt") is in the key of E major and comprises 111 bars. The tempo marking is Allegretto and the time-signature 2/4.

The piece is cast in the form of a Rondo, A-B-A-C-A.

The three A sections (or ritornello) consist of a double period of sixteen bars (except for a one bar extension on the last repetition), and are entirely scored in thirds, fifths and sixths. This invol ves a particular note-pattern called the "horn fifth". This figure, which was frequently given to the horns in the days when they were valveless, became sanctioned by contrapuntal usage.

A well-known example of its employment in

keyboard music is found in Scarlatti:

~

.

D. Scarlatti (Longo

Allegro

,~

I'

t (ed. by PXB)

ir

-

~

1

2 4

N~S)

..

~

I

With this musical material, Paganini brilliantly illustrates the timbral potential of the violin. Thus, the first period of the A section (b. 1-8) is marked dolce and bears the instruction "sulla Tasiiera imitando il 1 Art

poetique. 13.16.

198

Flauto",2 while the first phrase of the second period (b. 9-12) is marked forte, with the instruction "imitando il Corno sulla 3a e 411 corda".3 In the concluding bars of this section, the two tone qualities alternate (b. 1315).

The theme of the flute and the' answer of the horn (in liberal

retrograde motion) are played between tonic and dominant, i.e, over implied I and V pedals, respectively: Allegretto

.

..

.

N. Pagani ni (Caprice 9)

Sulla Tast"ra lmltando 11 Flauto

.

dolce

.........., imitando i1 Corno sulla 3"0 4"corda

SUl1aTastiora

Tastiora

!

Section B (b. 17-36) begins in the parallel minor, and continues the rhythmic figure of A (anapaestic), but with a different anacrusis. A triple sound chord is scored on each beat: B ,.---.... 16

"

.-----.... ..o...

~•

simili

The second phrase of B is announced in the relative key, with a sonorous G major chord on four strings. After a harmonic sequence employing root movements up a fourth and down a fifth, the section closes with a gracious Neapolitan cadence: N. Pagani ni (Caprice 9)

2"On the fingerboard. imitating the flute". 3"rmitating the horn on the third and fourth strings".

199

Section C, in bravura style, opens in A minor with an emphatic motif based on the tonic arpeggio followed by prestissimo ascending scales and an episode in ricochet.

According to the manuscript, as well as the first

Ricordi edition, Paganini's suggested manner of execution indicates taking five notes in one bow (not four notes down and one up as stated by most modern editors):

{m;

----

From bar 69, the key changes to C major. The arpeggio motif and the scales are restated one third higher. This is the climactic passage of the Caprice, which reaches i'", at bar 75: aue

N. Pagani ni (Caprice 9)

I

~-

.".

~ --'

~~~ f....

;

• •

,~-.;..

The new ricochet episode moves from C major through F major, G major,

A minor and E minor. A two octave arpeggio on the dominant introduces the last ritornello.

Several editors (including Von Reuter, Wronski,

Flesch, Gulli and Berkley) suggest playing this last section in double harmonics:

"t:

II

~

l~r.bY PXBh 94 /I 11

•

i.

~

"l

N. Paganini (Caprice 9)

=

-

;

1i ~

. . ..--... i. .

~

p

~

.

~

.:.

~ ;

. .

;,---...

1i

r---

.

.:.

. r-: ...

(as revised by Carl Flesch)

It is very likely that this performing tradition is based on personal accounts

of musicians who, like Eugene Sauzay (the teacher of Carl Flesch at the Paris Conservatoire),4 heard Paganini play in concert.

4Sauzay, Eugene 0809 - 1901) (c-Baillot) Was among the first violins in the Opera Orchestra at Paganini's Paris debut in 1831.5ee: Flesch, Carl. "Apropos of Paganini's Secret", in: The Strad L [=593] (1939), p.205. See also: Niccolo Paganini 24 kaJ?rysy na skrzV1?ce solo. ed, by Tadeusz Wronski, Krakow: Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, 1977, p. 4-5.

200

Transcriptions of Caprice 9 Liszt published two versions of his transcription of Caprice 9, both of which he entitled "La Chasse". While the first version (1838) accumulates the technical difficulties, heavily adding to the texture of the original, the second one (851) comes much closer to Paganini's text. There, much in the vein of his transcription of Caprice 1 (Srd version), Liszt reproduces the initial A section exactly, adopting the violin notation on one stave.

The

execution is divided between right and left hand: 5 imii:aa.do il PlCD.lto

~~ :

(Liszt·s fingering)

5

Schumann's transcription of Caprice 9 appeared as N"2 of his 6 Studien nach Capricen von Pag-anini. op.3. The violin part, reproduced almost note for note, is played by the right hand.

The left hand provides

unobtrusive harmonic and rhythmic support: R.Schumann (Studien nach Capricen vO~l!.~ini, op.3 N~2) rr: r">: r"> rr': -

..... .. .. . ....

Allegretto,-II)

II

II

~

t.l t/Ql« (ed. by PXB) 11

-r:==

...1:::

~

-- -= . ~

$

. r--. ,:'• ( •

.

.r

::

. ,-.. ........

- -- - --.. = . . . ~

.

•

....

..

~

V

The theme of Caprice 9 makes an appearance in part IV of Dallapiccolla's Sonata Canonica, in fleeting counterpoint to Caprice 14:

201

·.-

~~~

If)

~ l. ,T

•

• I

-11.

Dallapiccola (Sonatina Canonica,IV)

.~~ ~~

_. ..

(kby PXB) JJr

;;.

.~

" "

ppp "

-..... rr

202

L..

==""'-:'-_:; 1'4-"

CAPRICE 18 ~ 4acorda,..--------- - .

.--

-.

~:a=~

•

f

:>:>

:>:>

simi];

Known as "the call of the post hom", Caprice 18 has an evocative, refreshingly romantic character.

Schubert's Die Post (from the Winterreise) comes

naturally to mind. From the technical point of view the piece constitutes an admirable study in thirds and is particularly challenging as far as intonation is concerned. The greatest experts of the time, including as severe a critic as August Kestner and such an embittered rival as Louis Spohr, were unanimous in their praise of Paganini's constantly pure intonation. Yet, according to several reports, and even on his own admission, he often played on an out of tune violin: "After the concert we chatted for a long time with Paganini, who was very exhausted. Probably because when he plays, he uses his whole body; and he is physically very weak...He showed us some astounding tricks on his violin...It often sounded as though three people were playing. His passages in double stops are dazzling, and I've never heard anyone run over the strings so fast...Then he imitated a donkey, a parrot, and a thrush - all wonderfully natural. Later, Dr Martecchini tried to play on his violin and found, to his astonishment. that it was completely out of tune. Whereupon Paganini simply doubled up with laughter, and said that he alwaysplayed on a mistuned violin." I

[tri. de Conrey]

IDe Cethaldi, Matthaus Nikolas, Correspondence (Letter dated Venice, October 2,1824), published in: Achl Uhr Abendblatt, Berlin, March 19,1934. Quoted by G. de Courey (in her own English translation), cp.cit., YoU, p.234.

203

Paganini, who made frequent use of open strings and harmonics, must have had very good reasons to tune his instrument the way he did. It seems that he practised, besides the scordaiura proper, a kind of extremely sophisticated adjustment of the traditional tuning in fifths: ..." One finds it extraordinary that he plays on a mistuned violin. Buthis violin is not out of tune. On the contrary, it is tuned with great diligence.v- [trl.PXBj An arresting hypothesis formulated by [utta Stuber is that Paganini - like the

lute players, for example - manipulated the tuning of his instrument according to both the key of the piece and the temperament best suited to his immediate purpose.

The German researcher is inclined to think that

Paganini favoured mean tone temperament (or "just" intonation) and gives rather convincing reasons to support her views.3 However, the unerring accuracy of Paganini's intonation in so many different circumstances and contexts, his mastery of very advanced techniques of the scordaiura (e.g. the First Concerto where the violin and the orchestra play, as it were, in two different keys)4 strongly suggest that he was proficient in several systems of intonation (Pythagorean, tempered, natural-harmonic, etc). Be that as it may, Stuber's proposition is of such interest, that an extensive quotation seems justified: "Willy Burmester5 withdrew from the Berlin concert scene and practised this piece [Caprice 18J 4276 times. 6 What is then so difficult about this piece, which is, 2... "man staunt es wie ein Wunder an, daB er auf einer verstinunten Geige spielt. Seine Geige

ist aber nicht verstinunt, sondem im Gegentheile mit grollem fleiJle gestinunt. " Schottky, Julius Max. Paganjni's! eben und Trejben als KUnstler und als Mensch. Walluf: Sandig- Reprint, 1974, p.282. 3See: Stuber, [utta. Die Intonation des Geigers, Bonn: Verlag fur systematische Musikwissenschaft, 1989, pp.169-171, 303-305, 358-362. 4present-day performers have eluded the difficult problem of the scordaiura by adopting the Kalmus version of the orchestral part which is, in fact, a transcription of the original orchestration from E flat down to D Major. The execution is thus facilitated for both the orchestra and the soloist; this is unfortunately at the expense of the contrast of timbres existing in the original version. 5Burmester, . Willv. (1869-1933) (>Joachim).

204

barmonically, quite clear and simple? - Tbat it is written in C major. If we examine the "tone-net" corresponding to the four bars of tbe example, and try to fit in it the four tones g, d. a. and e of the open strings, we will recognise at once that the piece cannot be performed satisfactorily with the ordinary tuning: 9#

d#

=

• • -h fe

f

9

f#

d

.... -..-

240

~

> -------->._-----....

h-

---.....,

* >

.-------'----

~ '-----

Dti~--·~····_---

---....y .-_....- - -

..... ---

241

-

II

242

.~.

Costa and Paganini)

Metodg teorico-praticQ dj NiceolO De Giovanni per ben fare sui

VjoljoQ Gli Armoojci sempljci triJlatj e dopoY, Genoa: Biblioteca del Conservatorio Niccolo Paganini,

Giornovik, Giovanni.

Ems. Cas. 5879J, Rome: B.Cas.

Krommer, Franz

Ems. Cas. 5924], Rome: B.Cas.

Paganini, Niccolb.

[ms. Cas. 5560, 5562;5566.67; 5575-77; 5587; 5598; 5599; 5622;5625-27; 5635-5645; 5649; 5704; 6721], Rome: B.Cas. Sonata a Vjolino e ViQla (viola part only) Genoa: Biblioteca del Conservatorio di Musica N. Paganini, Largo con forte espressjone e sempre crescendo,

(Album d'autographes de Dantan, autograph dated 21 July 1837) Paris: B.N. [Res. Vm7537],cote microfilm R.799. Gamme cbmmatiQue e1 contraire (Album duPrince Wielhorski, autograph dated 27 JUly 1837), Paris: B.N. [23.18) Allegro assaj (Album d'Alfred de Beauchesne, autograph dated II July 1837, Paris:B.N. [W.24, 30, p.46]. Rolla, Alessandro.

Concerto ger VioUno [ms. Cas. 6072], Rome: B.Cas.; Stud;j Der 2 ~ ems. Cas. 6075], Rome: RCas.

2. Microfilms Locatelli, Pietro Antonio.

Capriccio del Sig Localelly, Paris: B.N.[Vm7-1686].

Paganini, Niccolo.

CapriccioperVjo!joq lJrnigliato a StEt il Sig,Conle Maurizio

Djetrichste;n , autograph dated 9 August 1828, Vienna: OsterreichiscncNationalbibliothek (BibHotecaPalatina Vindobonensis)[mus HSI8718]. SCilla ohljgvae cOQ(rarja per Chjtarra dj p'dganjnj, autograph dated 4

January 1829, Prague: Museum Ceske Hudby [TrB 510]. Sesuetg cownnicato e raccoIDandatQ da Pa&anini al suo Cam arnica

L G Genn;. Photostat 998, suppl. to Maia Bang collection. Library of Congress. Music Division (Location of original manuscript unknown). Al menta sivgolare di MadamigelJa Clara Wieck. chromatic scale for the piano, harmonised in contrary motion (Clara Wieck's album, autograph dated Leipzig, 16 October 1829), Dresden: Sachsische Landesbibliothek [Mus. Schu, 223]. Prelud;o ger Vjolino. (Clara Wieck', album, autograph dated Leipzig, 16 October 1829), Dresden: Slichsische Landesbibliothek [Mus. Schu. 224].

Stamitz, Johann.

60 Caprices, vjolino, Vienna: Sammlungen der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde [Mus. ms. 23464]

264

3. Photostats La Semaine du Yio!oojste au Exercjces QUQtidiens.suivis de la

Anon.

notationdu fam.ux Hi-Han de l'a~anini, Depot legal Meurthe-etMoselle N' 10, 1889. B.N. call numberL.8. 695.[This booklet consists of 2 pages of music written by hand - scales and arpeggios for daily practice.The last number is an interesting notation (probably written from memory by the unknown author) of one of Paganini's famous "farmyard irnitations.The transcription.reproduced in footnote I, is preceded by the following explanatory note: "Dans un concert de Paganini, au figurait La chanteuse Pallierini, celle-ci est impertinemment sifjIee. Paganini la vengea sur le champ en executanrsur son violon le ilidian. ci -dessous, qui fit trepigner fa salle d'allegresse et valut aI'ane improvise des applaudissements enthousiastes."] 1 CapticiQ a 2 Violino De! Sjg. Nic. Mestrino,

Mestrino Nicolo

Paris:B.N.[Vmg18928j2 Paganini, Niccoli>.

FacsimiIe of the autggraph manuscript of Paganioi's 24 Caprices, ed.by Federico Mompcllio, Milan, Ricordt, 1974.3

[B.N. L.9.695J 4~e corde 2

2

2This Caprice by Mestrino was mentioned by Paganini in a letter to Germi ( f.f.189) The copy examined is written by hand but probably not autograph ..

3The autograph manuscript of Paganini's 24 Caprices which was handed to Signor Tomaso. an employee of Ricordi, on 24 November 1820. is still housed in the archives of the firm. With reference to my request to examine the document. Dr. G. Dono gave the following precisions: Dear Philippe Borer,

The autograph of Paganini's ~ is not written on robust paper stock and is among the more delicate documents in our archives. Thus, one reason that led to Casa Ricordi's decision to publish a facsimile, was to offer scholars worldwide the opportunity to study this precious document. As you certainly will have noticed. the color facsimile of the

~

was photographed and printed with great precision. The reproduction is

Iifesiae and all paper edges are visible. The definition quality allows precise rendition of every crease and color

variant. Finally. the darkness of the ink and clarity of the writing in the original allow for identification of all

musical notation [...1With best wishes for your work, Sincerely yours.

G. RICORD! & C. s.p.a. Gabriele Datto Dlrettcre Produzione Edizioni.

265

PRINTED SCORES

1. General Alard, Delphin

24 Etudes-Caprices dans les 24 Tons de InGamme Bruxelles: Schott

Freres, 1924 Blacher, Boris.

Orchestervariatjonen tiber ejnTheron von N PaganioL 01).26. Berlin:

Bote & Bock, 1947 Bohrer, Antoine.

Caprices ou 18Etudes, Berlin: Schlesinger, 1819.

Brahms, Johannes.

Yariationen tiber einTheroa von Paganini, Opt 35, Heft 2, New-York:

Doverpublications, 1971. Busoni,Ferruccio.

Klayjerjibune in zehnBUcher. Leipzig: Breitkopf& Hartel, 1925 FaUOini-Ljszt Thema mit Variariouen EtUde tr 6, . Eine

Transcription-Studie von Ferruccio Busoni,Leipzig: Breitkopf & Hartel, 1914 Casimir-Ney, L.

24 Preludes pour rA!tQ Vjola op 22, RNew-York: Edition Musicus, 1961.

Dallapicola Luigi.

Sonata CanoDiea su Capriccj dj NjccolQ Paganinj per pianoforte.

Milan: Zerhoni, 1946 Ernst,Heinrich Wilhelm.

Sechsmehrntimmjge EtUden und "DerErikonig" nach Schubert, Hamburg: Sikorski, 1954.

Lipinski, Karol.

3 kapeysy on sknypce, Krak6w: Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne,

1976. Liszt, Franz.

Grandes

Etudes de Paganjnj (ransed tes oour Ie piano (ed. by Alfred

Cortot}, Paris: Salabert, 1949. Locatelli, Pietro.

Ci\llrices intitules rAn du Vjolon, Paris: J. Frey, 1824. L'Arte del Vjolino, (ed by R. Franzoni), Milan: Ricordi, 1920. L'Art du Vjolon. 25 Ci\llrices, (ed, By E. Nadaud), Paris: Costallat, 1905.

266

Lutoslawski, Witold.

Variations on a theme by Pagaoinj for two Pianos, London: Chester.

1972

Milhaud, Darius.

Trois Capricesde Paganinj (mites en duos CODcerTants DOur Viola" et

Piano, Paris: Heugel, 1927.

Mayseder, J.

6 Etudes POur Vio!oo op.29, Vienna, Universal Edition, n.d.

Nardini, Pietro.

30 Caprice" fiir Violine allejn, ed. by A. Moser, Berlin:M. Hesse. 1925

Rachmaninoff, Sergei.

Rapsodie surun theme de Paganioi. op. 43, pourpiano et orchestre,

New-York: Carl Fisher, n.d.

Schumann, Robert.

Sechs Studien Nacb Caprice" von Paganioi On 3, Frankfurt: C.F.

Peters [n.d.] Etudes d'apres des Caprices de Paganini op, 10, Frankfurt: C.F. Peters .n.d. Robert SchuIDanns Werlce, Serie VII, Leipzig:

Breitkopf & Hartel, 1877; RWestmead, Eng.: Gregg Press, 1968. Sivori, Camillo.

Donze Etudes-Caprices pour violo" seul, Paris: Alphonse Leduc, n.d.

Poulenc, Francis

Metamorphoses, I. Reine des Mouettes; Il.C'est ainsi que tu es; n. Paganini, Paris: Salabert, 1944.

Prume, Francois,

Six grandes etudes pour Violoo op. 2, Braunschweig: H. Litolff, n.d.

RochbergGeorge.

Caprice Variatjons for Unaccompanied Vio!jo. New- York: Galaxy

Music, 1973.

Schnittke, Alfred.

A Paganjni per violi"o solo, Hamburg: Sikorski, 1983.

Szymanowski, Karol.

Trzv Kaprysy Pagaujnjego, Vienna, 1926.

Vieuxtemps, Henri.

Capriccjo flir Viola op, poslh , Mainz, B. SChOll'S Sohne, 1973.

Ysaye, Eugene.

Six Sonates pour Viola" seul, Bruxelles: schon Freres, 1924.

267

2. Editions of the Caprices

The popularity of the Caprices is reflected in the comparatively large number of published editions. As T. Wronski points out in the preface of his own 1977 edition of the work, there are firmly rooted performing traditions which, although departing from the original notation, may well go back to people who heard Paganini play. Such traditions as some bariolages in the second and the twelfth Caprices, the double harmonics in the ninth etc., are already reflected in some of the earlier editions.

Yellr

Editor

1820

Pillce

Milan

Publisher

Ricordi

PlIrticulllrities

First

edition, engraved after

Paganini's

1823 1 1826(?)

H. Auteur

1830

Leipzig

Breitkopf&Hartel

Paris

Richault

Florence

Lorenzi

instructions

probably a pirated edition of Ricordi's

1831

B. Henry

1836

Paris

Pacini

Milan

2nd Ricard; edition

1839

N. Mori

London

Wessel& Co

1843(?)

F. David

Leipzig

Breitkopf&Hartel

1851

J.L. Massart

Paris

5chonenberger

1873

G. Papini

Milan

Ricordi

?

E. Singer

1884

J. Becker

Leipzig

Peters(n'6386)

1900

E.Kross

Mainz

Schott

Jnd Ricard; edition

Litolff

the order of the caprices is completely re-arranged according to a criterion of

"progressive

1 Date given by Albi Rosenthal in: A Intriguing Copy of Paganini's 24 Caprices (Genoa, 1982)

Z 16-S-II-IO-IS-ZI-ZZ-7-14-13-IZ-9-B-I-Z3-6-19-1 B-Z-3-20-4-17-Z4.

268

djffjcuJty~

2

1

A. Rose

Vienna

Universal

1917

A. Lefort

Paris

Durand

1920

G. Marchet

Paris

E.Gallet

"Edition Nationale"

1921

A.Bachmann

Paris

E. Gallet

With 2nd Violin ace.

1921

E. Polo

Milan

Ricordi

1924

F. von Reuter

Leipzig

Eulenburg

The title-page reads: "Revised -

allen freely -for works of study and in the concert execution". There is a detailed prtface and a short introduction into each Caprice.

1925

J. Hubay

1926

A. Busch

1930(1)

Carl Flesh

Frankfurt

Peters

1941

G. Schiinemann

Frankfurt

Peters

Vienna 1

Universal Ed.

1

with piano ace. by Schumann

&. urtext ed. of the violin part

1944

H. Berkley

New-York

Schirmer

1945

A. Poltronieri

Milan

Carish

1946

M. Abbado

Milan

Suvini Zerboni

1949

D.C. Dounis

London

The Strad

1952

Gallais Montbrun Paris

Leduc

1952

R. Benedetti

Paris

Choudens

1954

F. 5chmidlner

Hamburg

Sikorski

1958

R. Principe

Milan

Curci

contains preparatory exercises for Caprice J (simplified versions and

theory of the "chain system")

1959

K.G. Mostrass

1970

C. Barison

Murghiz Milan

Carish

the book contains an edition of 10 Caprices as wdl as preparatory exercises J

1970(1)

L. Raby

New-York

I.M.C.

39-10-11-13-14-15-16-18-20-21.

269

(rans. for viola

1973

1. Galamian

New-York

I.M.C

1974

A. Ghertovici

Bucarest

Editura Musicala

1975

j.Wumrner

New-York

I.M.C

1977

T. Wronsky

Krakow

Polskie Wydawnictwo

trans, for

jluu

Muzyczne

1980

j. Sedivka

not published

available at the Tasmanian Conserviuonum of Mu.sic Library

1982

F. Gulli

Milan

Curci

1982

T.Nonnan

Henmar Press

New-York

1984

R. Ricci

Budapest

Editio Muska

1986

K.Hertel

Leipzig

Peters

"unext" edition

1988

Neill! Accardo

Milan

Ricordi

"urtext" edition

1990

R.De Barbieri

Miinchen

G.Henle

"urtext" edition

N.B.

trails. [or guitar

Geraldine de Courey (Pgq"njni the Genoese, uot.It, p.374) mentions en edition by L.Auer but

does't giue Ilny date or publisher. The highly interesting edition published by Kalmus is still Quailable ( New-York, K 04405}, but, unfortunately enough, the editor's name is not mentioned.

270

BOOKS AND ARTICLES B.Cas. Biblioteca Casanatense, Rome B.N. Bibliotheque Naticnale, Paris

ms.

manuscript

not dated R reprint trl. translated > indicates relation pupil to teacher Dates of birth and death are indicated only for authors of primary sources n.d.

Abbado, Michelangelo.

"Ho vista Nicolo Paganini", in: La Lettura [Milan] (August 1941). Come studiare i CwOke; di Paganini. Milan: Suvini Zerboni, 1973.

Abraham. Gerald (editor).

The Age of Beethoven, 1790-1830,London: O.U.P.,1982

Altman, Ian Henry.

Liszt'sGrand Etudes after Paianjnj: a historical and analytical study, DMA diss University of Cincinnati. 1984.

Anders, G.E. (1795-1866)

NicolO Pagani";, sa vie sa oeCSQone et quelques mots sur son secret,

Paris.Delaunay.ISd I.

Anon.

Paeanjnj's Method of producing the Hannopic Double Stops, London, I 840. [University of London library (Royal College of Music), Call N° LXX.F.32 (2)]

Ansermet, Ernest.

Les Eondements de 13 MusjQue dans 13 Conscience Humajne,

Neuchil.tel: Editions de la Baconniere, 1961. Armando. Walter G.

Paganjnj ejne BjQgraghje, Hamburg: RUtten & Loening, 1960.

Audibert, Henri,

Pagavinj Concerto Style, Narbonne: chez l'Auteur, 1974.

Auer, Leopold. (>Kohne. Dont and Joachim)

Violin Playing as I Teach It. London: Duckworth, 1960.

Bach. Carl Philipp Emanuel.

Versucb tiber die wahre Art das Clavierzu Spie\en, ersterTheil, Berlin: the Author. 1753.RLeipzig 1957. (English translation as: Essay Qn the True Artof Playine KeybQard Ins(ruments, ttl. by William Mitchell, New-York:Norton, 1949]

Bachmann,Alberto Abraham. (>Yseye and Thomson)

An EncyclQpedia QftheVjQlin. trl. by F.H. Martens, New-York: D. Appletan,1925. Les Grands VjQJQDistes du passe, with a letter-preface by Joseph Joachim.Paris: Fischbacher, 1913.

271

GymoastiQue al'Usaee des Vjoloojstes DOur Ie n¢velm>pement de la

E!lm: de la Main Gauche. Paris: Fischbacher, 1914. "Nicolo Paganini, sa vie. son ceuvre et son influence" in: Mercure Musical, 1907,pp.1238-1269 and 1908,pp, 4-25)

Bailbe, J.M.

Le Roman et la Musiaue sous 13 Monarchic de Juillel, Paris: Minard, 1969.

Belgrano,Tomaso

ImbrevjalUre di Giovanni Scriba, Genoa: Tipografia dell'Istituto Sordomuti, 1882

Baillot, Pierre Marie

L'An du VioloO' nouvelle Melhode, Paris, 1834.

(1771-1842) (>Polidori, Pollani and Viotti) Balzac, Honore de. (1799-1850)

Modeste Mi~on, [on Moscheles and Paganini, ch.I, P.681]. Le Cousin Pons. [ch. XIII, p. 2381 Le Voleur (Joyrnal d'E de Girardin). [20 mars 1831] ~, [ch.m, p.249] Letterto S H Berthoud. dated Paris, 18 March, 1831

Barat, Endre.

Boszork;inytl\nk Paganinieletregenye, Budapest:ZenemUkiad6, 1972

Bargellini, Sante.

"Paganini and the Princess", in: The Musical Quarterly XX/4 (October 1934), pp. 408-418.

Barmas,Issay

Die LOsung des vejgemechnischen Problems, Berlin: Ed.Bote & G.Bock. 1913.

Barres,Maurice

Du sang. de la vo!up!e el de la mort, Paris, 1894. [Also published in YoUI of L'Garvre de Maurice Barres, Paris: Club de I'Honnete Homme. 1965. with a preface by L. d'Aragcn and notes by Henri Quittard, Lue De Vos and Paul Desachy. Of high interest, the long

footnote after the phrase "...Plus haute que routes et seule fastueuse, voici la tombe du rnysterieux Paganini..."]

Baudelaire, Charles

Choix de Maximes Consolantes sur l'AmQur. in: (Euvres Paris, La Pleiade. [on Paganini, see p. 1\89J

CQmpH~tes.

Les Paradjs Artjficiels

Beguin, Albert,

L'Ame romantjqueet Ie Reve, Paris: Jose Corti, 1956.

Bennati, Francesco. (1788-1834)

"Notice physiologique sur Nicolo Paganini", in Revue de Paris, XXVU17 (May 1831)

Berger, Karol.

Muska ficta: theories of accidental inflections in vocal polyphony, Cambridge: C.U.P., 1987.

272

Beriot. Charles Auguste de (1802-1870)

Methode de Vjolon, op.102 (3 Vol.), Paris,1858. [in vol.ID de Beriot attempts at applying on the violin the principles of the bel como as passed on to him by his wife Maria MaJibran (>Garcia)]

Berlioz. Hector. (1803-1869)

Memojres, 2 vol., Paris: Calmann Levy, 1878 [on Paganini, see, in particular, vol. I, p. 30 I]. Grand Tr;1ite d'Instmmentiltion et d'Qrchestralioo Moderne, Paris: Schonenberger, 1844.

Bernstein, Susan.

Virtyosity of the Njneteenth. Centur,y: Music and I .anguaU jn Heine 1 is't and Baudeiaire. PhD diss, The John Hopkins University, Baltimore,Maryland, 1994.

Berri, Pietro.

Paganini ia vjta e ie oDere, Milan: Bornpiani, 1982.

Berthoud.Eugene.

Gymnastjque du Vjoloniste, Geneve: Henn, n.d.

Borer, Philippe.

"Les 24 Caprices de Paganini et la Constellation Romantique", in: Revue Musicale de Suisse Romande, N"2 (june 1993), pp. 75-85. "Foglio d'Alburn", in: Quademi dell'Istituto di Studi Pagoniniani, N" 7 (oct,1993), pp.37-41. "46 Editions of the Caprices", ibid., pp,47-49. Aspects of European Influences on Australjan Violin Playing & Teaching. MMus. diss.Llniversityof Tasmania 1988.

Boss. Roger.

(e-Levi and Conot)

"Reperes biographiques", in: RevueMusicale de SuisseRomande, N"2 (lune 1993), pp. 68-74.

Boucher de Crevecoeur de Perthes, Jacques (1788-1868)

Sous dix Rojs (8Vol.), Paris: lung-Treuttel, 1863-67. [Concerning

Boumiquel, Camille.

QIllWn, Paris: Le Seuil, 1957. [Paganini's influence on Chopin, see pp.!62-163]

Boyden. David.

"The violin and its technique in the eighteenth century", in: The Musical Quarterly,XXXVI (1950), pp,9-38. [Resume:

Paganini and Prince Baciccchi, see Vol. I. p. 584]

..Although the music of the period often reflects more advanced practices than the methods. the printed notes of the scores merely furnish the skeleton of that music. The clue to the music's true physiognomcny,

which is revealed largely through the details of performances. lies concealed in the methods. 'OJ

Bray, Rene

Chronologie du RQmantjsme 1804-1830,Paris: Boivin, 1932.

Brody, Elaine.

"Paris,I 840", in: American Scholar, LIlli! (Winter 1983) pp. 83-90. [Description and study of the famous group portrait by Joseph

273

Danhauser known as A Romantic Constellation"; Liszt, Sand. oj

d'Agoclr. Dumas. Hugo. Paganini, Rossini. and Beethoven's bust)]

Bromfield. Louis.

Brown. Malcolm H.

"Paganini's Secret falJs to Young Violinists", in: Musical America XXXVI/5 (May1922). p. 5

'TheSovietRussian concept of «Intonazia» and «musical imagery». in: The Musical Quanerly 60.1974. pp.557-567. [The theories of Boris V. Asafiev are mentioned].

Brunet-Lecomte. H.

Jaques-Dalcroze. Geneve: Edition Jeheber, nd.

Bull. Ole (1810-1880.1 !>Lundholm and Paganini)

"Recollections of Paganini", in Crosby. Dr A.B. The Art of Holding the Violin & Bow as exemplified by Qle Bull, London: William

Reeves, 1909.pp. 37-43. Calcagno. Daniele.

"La scuola violonistica ligure", Genova, 1992". (unpubI. article kindly forwarded by Author)

Calcagno/Cortese/Tanasini.

La scuolamusicale genovese tra XVI eXVU seco!Q musicae musjcistj d'ambjente c"humlc tigure. Genoa,AMIS/Graphos. 1992.

panj

Campagnoli. Banolomeo.

Metodo dena meccanica progressjva per violjna djyisQ in 5

(>Nardini)

distdbYite in J32 lezio"; pmW!ssiye per 2 vjolinj e J 18 studj per

violjno solo. Milan. 1797. 2nd edition 1803. RMilan: Ricordi, 1945. Cantil. Alberto.

124 Canned e i 6 Conceni dj Pagaoini. Torino: EDA, 1980. Invito aU'AscQlto dj Paganjni. Milan: Mursia, 1988.

Capet, Lucien. (>Maurin)

La Technique Supedeure de I'Archet. Paris: Salabert (Coil. M. Senart), 1916.

Castiglioni, Vinore.

Paganinj' bjografja. Parma: Pilotta 1982.

Celeda, Jaroslav.

NicolO paganin;. Prague: M.U., 1914

Chesnut, John Hind.

"Mozart's Teaching of Intonation". in: Journalofthe American Musical Society XXX. 1977,pp.254-27I. [Conclusion of the author. "The quasi-Pythagorean 'expressive' or 'functional' intonation of 19th

and 20m century non-keyboerdinstruments is particularly foreign to the tradition in which Mozart stood"]

Codignola, Arturo I editor).

Paganjni jntima, Genoa: Municipiodi Genova, 1935. Pagaoiniana. a cura del Civico Istituto Colombiano, Milan: Luigi Alfieri, 1953.

274

Codignola, Mario.

Me e Magja dj Njccolo' Paganioi, Milano: Ricordi, 1960.

Colombo. Gianluigi.

"Paganini pianista", in: La Scala 127 (June 1960), pp.12-13.

Condat, Jean-Bernard (editor),

NicolO

Pa~anjDi

(1782-1840) Musjcien Magic;e"

QU

Mutant de Marfan?, Paris: Librairie Honore Champion, 1990. Conestabile, Gian Carlo

Vita dj NjccolQ Paganjni. ed. by F.Mompellio, Milan: Dante A1ighieri, 1936.

Copertini, Spartaco.

"II segreto di Paganini", Note di Critica e d'Arte, in: II Piccolo Parma (April (4), 1920. [Methoils of Sevcik and Mantovani mentioned]

Conal. Alfred. (>Diemer)

Aspecls de Chopin. Paris, Albin Michel, 1949. [Inlluence of Paganini, see pp. 44 and 171 J

Courvoisier, Carl. (>David and Joachim)

Technics ofVjolin Playjng on Joachim's Method. London: The

Crosby. Dr A.B.

The Art of Holding the Vjo!jo & Bow as exemplified by Qle Bull,

Strad. 1899

London: William Reeves, 1909. Crickboom, Mathieu. (>Ysaye)

Le Violon, Bruxelles: Schall & Co., 1923.

Dancla, Charles. (1818-1907) (>Baillot)

NOles et souvenirs. Paris, Delamotte, 1893.

Deneemann. Ulrich. (e-Rostal)

IsOJDetrische {"!bungeD furGeiger,Duisburg: Walter Braun Verlag, 1982

Davidov, Carl

Violoncello Schule, Leipzig: Peters. n.d.

Day. Lilian.

Niccolb Pagaoini of Genoa, New-York: Macaulay, 1929.

De Chessin, Alexis.

La Grande Ecole du VjoJon du xyrnme Siecle, Paris. Aubanel Pere,

nd. De Courcy, Geraldine I. C.

Pagaoini the Genoese, (2 vol.), Nonnan: Universityof Oklahoma

Press. 1957.

Delogu, Gaetano.

"La melodia nei capricci di Paganini", in: Rassegna musicale Curci, Milan. April 1960, pp. 6-7.

De Martino, Emesto

LaTerra del Rimorso, Milan: II Saggiatore. 1961. [vital source of information about the origins of the tarentello and the implications

275

of certain musical dance forms in Italy (--+ Caprice 11)]

Delacroix, Eugene (1798-1863).

Journal d'Eugene Delacroix (3 vol.), ed. by Paul Flat and Rene Piot. Paris, Plon-Nourrit, 1893. (Ms. belongs 10 the University of Paris) [English trl.asThe Journal of EugeneDelacroix, translated by Lucy Norton, London: Phaidon, 195I 1 [On Paganini and Ernst. see entry of 15 January 1856)

Diderot,Denis.

Jacques Ie Fatalist' e1 son Maitre, Paris, 1796.

Dounias, Minos. (>Kulenkampff)

Dje Vjolinkonzerte Giuseppe Tartjnis aIs Ausdruck ejner

KUnSllerpersOn1jchkeit "od ejner Kulturepoche, ZUrich:

Moseler VerlagWolfenbOttel, 1966. [first ed, 1935]. Duleba, Wladyslaw

Wjeniawskj. his time and life, Neptune City, NJ Paganiniana t

publications, I984. Du Maurier, Georges.

IriIllx (first published in 1894), new edition, London: Dent, 1969. (on Paganini, see pp. 201, 252,253 and 355 of the J969 edition]

Du Rivage.

(~See

Eberhardt, Goby. (>Dessau)

Mejn System des ("TheDs flir Violine lind Klavier auf

Eberhardt, Siegfried.

Guibal du Rivage, Alexandre Paris, j831).

psychophysiologjscher Grundlage, Dresden: G. KOhlmann, 1907. Pagauinjs Gejgenbaltyng: dje Entdeckuog des Geselzes vit1U0ser

Sicherheit, Berlin:A.Flirstner, 1921. AbsoluterTreffsicherheit auf dec VjoIjoe, Berlin: A.Fiirstner, 1912.

Eigeldinger, Jean-Jacques.

Chopin XU Parsosfleves, Neuchate]: Ala Baconniere, 1979. "Twenty-four Preludes op. 28, genre,structure, significance" in: Chopin Studies, ed, by J. Samson,Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988, pp.167-194.

Einstein,Alfred.

Music;n the Romantic Era, London: J.M.Dent, 1947.

Escudier, Leon,

Mes souvenirs' les vinuQses, Paris: Dentu, 1868

Escudier, Marieet Leon,

Vje et Ayentwes des Cantatrices C¢Jebres: precedCes des Musiciens de l'Empjre et syivies de 13 Vje AnecdQ(ique de Paganjni.

Paris: Dentu, 1856. Farga, Franz.

Paganjni def Roman seines llebens, ZUrich-RUschlikon:

A. MOller, 1950. Ferris,George T.

Great Pianists andGreat Violinists. London: William Reeves,I900.

276

Feris, Francois Joseph. (1784-1871)

Notice hjofraphjque sur NjcCQlb Paranjoi. suiyje de ('analyse de ses QUvrages '1

"recede, de

J'bjstoire du violon.

Paris: Schonenberger,

1851. [English translation as: Biograph;cal Notice Qf NicQlo Paganioi with an Analysjs of his Compositions

and the Sketch of the

History Qf the ViQlin, trl. by Wellington Guernsey, London:Schott, 1852; 2nd edition.London.Schott, 1856]. Trajte cowplel de la theotie el de If) pratique de l'baououje coote0anl

ill dQctrine de la science et de l'an, lIth ed., Paris, 1875. Flammer, AlTordjman, G.

LeYiQIQn, Paris, J.C. Lattes - Salabert, 1993. [see pp.39: "...Paganini n'est pas le prefigurateur d'un romamisme flamboyant mats bien l'incarnation du baroque a son paroxysme..."]

Flesch, Carl.

"Apropos ofPaganini's Secret", in: The Strad l: [=593] (1939), pp.205-207. Dje Kunst des Vjolinspiels, (2vol.), Berlin,I923-28. [English version as: The Au QfVjolin P!ayin~, trl. by W.EMartens, New-York, 1924-30)]. Alta scuola di djttegjatura vjolouisrjca, trl. by A.Curci, Milan:

(>Grtin, Sauzay and Marsick)

Curci, 1960. [English version as: Violin Fineering its Theory and ~, English adaptation by Boris Schwarz, foreword by Yehudi Menuhin, London: Barrie and Rockliff,1966.

Forino, Luigi. (>F.Forino>Ciandelli >Paganini)

II ViolQncellQ, Milano: Vlrico Hoepli,1930.

Foscolo, Ugo. (1778-1827)

I

Fracht, J. Albert. (>Sevcik)

The Vjolonist's Handbook Scjentific Gymnastics for the Violjnist.

Furetiere, A.

Djctjonnaire Universe!, The Hague, 1690 I RI970

Galarnian, Ivan.

Principles of ViQlin P!ayjn~ &

(>Mostras and Capet)

Prentice-Hall, 1962.

Galeazzi, Francesco.

Elementj teQrico.pratjci di musica con un saggjo sQpral'ane dj

t;

Ultime Lenere di JnCQPO Ortis, Milan 1802. (between Foscolo and

Paganini there is a similarity noronly in externals, but a still greater agreement in the style of the two masters (Pulver p.114)J,

New-York, Remsen Press, 1979.

Ieachjn~,

Englewood Cliffs, NJ;

s!lonare jI violino (2 vol.), Rome: Stamperia Pilucchi Cracas, 1791. [B.Cas.: Mus. 421- 422] Gautier, Theophile.

Variations sur Ie CamavaI de Venise CEmallx et Cam¢es). ms. Paris, (" Car ce Camaval de Yenise / Paganini. dans te ruisseau l'a l"QIltWsi I l'art divinise

fOUl

ce qu'il touche de son sceau. ")

Albertus QU rAme e! Ie Peche. Paris, 1832 Caprices et Zigzags, Paris, Charpentier. 1884.

277

(}ernlrUarU,lFtancesco. (~Lonati,

Corelli and Scarlatti)

The Art of Playing on the Violin CoDtainin8 AU the Rules necessary to attain a Perfection on thatInstrument. wjth great variety of Compositions. which wj1l also be very useful to those who study the YioloncelJo Hamsichord & c . op. IX, London, 1751; French tri.,

Paris, 1752. facsimile edition by D.Boyden.London: O.V.P., 1952. [The work offers an insight into the expressive and technical performance of Italian music of the first part

of the 18th century. The principles of the old Italian Violin School, as passed on by Carelli, are admirably presented. This is also a document of capital interest as regards tbe teaching of intonation (elesser» and «greaten) semitone and decatonic or «rnixt» scale in Ex. II and IV) 011 many occasions Geminiani's observations call attention to Paganini's own views on musical matters)

Gefen, Gerard.

I&sMusjciens el fa Franc-Macoonerie, Paris: Fayard,1993

Gervasoni, Carlo.

Nuova leoriadi musicaricavata dall'odierna Pratjca, Parma:

Stamperia Blanchon,1812. Ghertovici, A. (editor).

Paganjni 24 Capdcij, Bucharest: Editura MuzicaIa a Uniunii

Compozitorilor, 1974. [see preface about Paganini's polyphonic writing and tempo indications] Gil, Dominic (editor).

The Book of the Vjoljn, Oxford: Phaidon Press,1984.

Giroud, Manuela.

"Les Apprentis Sorciers" in: Nouvelliste et Feuille d'Avis du Valais. Sion. 13 July 1993. p. 3.

Goethe. Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832)

Goethes Briefwechsel mjt Zeiter, Leipzig ,1924. [onPaganini, see Letter to Zeiter, 9

November 1829, p.4IS : ..... ich none nur etwas

Meuorisches und wusste mir weuer keine Rechenschaft zu geben." ]

Goldron,Romain.

Les nelmts dy Rornantisme. Lausanne: EditionsRencontre et la Guilde du disque, 1966. [ for theauthor Romanticism andClassicism constitute an historic unity (p.19).Includes an interesting § 00 Paganini, described as: " ce sorcier de l'archet. ce Cagliostro sarti du Diable amQurex de Cezcrre."]

du via/an foul

droit

Grillparzer, Franz

PAGANlNI AdagioIffid RondO auf der G-Saite. Vienna 1828 in: Ged;chlcund Erzahlungen, Wien:R.M.Rohrer Verlag, 1948, p.l20. Per armeSpielmann, Vienna, 1848.

Guhr, Karl (1787-\848) (~Schnabe\ and Janetzek).

Dber Paganinjs Kunst. die Violine zu spieleD. ein Anbang zu jeder his jetzt erscbjenenen Vjoljoscbyle nebst einer Abhandlung tiber das FJageolettspjeI jn einfachen ODd D~pe\19DeD, Mainz: B. Schou's Sobnen,IS'29. [French version as: L'art de joyerdu vjolon de

278

Appendice a toutes les methodes qui ant paru jusqu'a present. A vee un traite des sons harmoniques simples et doubles, Mayence: Les Fils de B. Schott, 1829]. [English translation as : Pa~anini's Art of Playjng the Violin with a Treatise 00 Sjngle and DoubleHarmonic Notes. trl, from the German by Sabilla Novello. and revised by C.EgertonLowe, London: Novello, 1915]. Pa~anini

Guibaldu Rivage,Alexandre

RetlexjQDS d'UD aniste sur Ie talent de Paganini, Paris:G.·A. Dentu, 1831.

Gut, Serge.

Franl Lisze les elements du langage wllsical, These de Doctorat

d'Etat, preface by Jacques Chailley, Poitiers: Editions Klincksieck, 1975.

Haas, Karl

"Paganini and the Caprices", ABC FM Stereo, Sydney, 25 August 1990.

Harrys, Georg. (1780-1838)

Pagani"; in seineD Reisewagen uod Zimmer in seinen redseUgeu StUDdeD. jn Gesellschaftlichen Zirkel" uoo seinen Konzerten,

Brunswick: Vieweg, 1830. Havas, Karo..

The Violin and !, London, Bosworth, 1968.

Haweis, Hugh Reginald.

My Musjcall.ife. London: W.H. Allen, 1884

Heck.Thomas F.

The birth of the classic

~j[ar

and

its cultjvation in Vjenna. reflected

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1.lllliill (GS) 'The Romantic School", English trl. by Francis Storr. 1887, published in: Heines" Prose and PoetfV, London: I.M. Dent, 1966, pp.244-255

Heron-Allen, Ed.

Violin-Making. London and Melbourne: Ward, Lock & Co. 1885.

Hodeir, Andre.

I.e, Nmes de ta Musique, Paris: P.D.F., 11th ed.1990. [first edition, 1951]. Musjkant. Paris: Le Seuil, 1987.

Hoppenor, Dominique.

1& YiolonInterieUf, Paris:

Hosiasson, Dr S.

Van de Velde,198I.

La MaltOse du Violon parI'Entrainemem psycho. DynamiQue, Paris:

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Cromwell, Paris: Alphonse Lemerre, I 827. (preface: pp. V-LXVII) Les Qriemales, Paris: Hetzel, 1829.(preface: pp. 1-7). [English trl. as: Eastern Lyrics],

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Ianegic,Ion.

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Notice sur Iecelebre vjoliniste Nicolo Paganjni.Paris E.Guyot, 1830.

Istel. Edgar.

Nicolo Paganini, Leipzig: Breitkopf & Hanel, 1919. "The Secret ofPaganini's Technique", in: The Musical Quarterly, XVI (1930)pp.101-1 16.

Jacobi, Erwin R.

"Nicolai's manuscript of Tartini's Regale perben suonar il violino" in: The Musical Quarterly, XLVW2 (April 1961), pp.207-223.

Jacobsen, Maxim.

The Masteryof Violjn Playing (2 vat), English text prepared by GemmaFarmer, New-York:Boosey & Hawes, 1957.

Jampolskij,Izrail Markovic.

See Yampotsky.

Janin, Jules.

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JoachimIMoser.

Violinschule (3 vat), Berlin: Simrock, 1905.

Johnston, R.M.

The NapoleQDjc Empire in Southern Italy and the Rise of the Secret

Societies,London, Macmillan (2 vat), 1904. [On General Pino, Paganini's friend and protector, see Vol.!, pp.272-273. Of great interest is chapterII, vol.Il, on the origins and rites of the Carbonari]

Kelley,Edgar Stillman

Chopin the Composer, New-York: Shirmer, 1913.

Kendall,Alan.

Paganini. a Biography, London: Chappell, 1982.

Kestner, August. (1777-1853)

R6mjsche Smdjen,Berlin:Verlagder Deckerschen GeheimenOberHofbuchdruckerei,1850 [containsvaluable witness reports on Paganini'sconcerts in Rome during 1819-1825, pp. 33-51].

Kinski, Klaus.

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Kirkendale, Warren.

"Segretocornunicatoda Paganini", in: Journal of the American Musicological Society XVIII!3 (1965), pp.101-116.

Klein. Joseph BA

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Kmoch, Vladimir. 1967),

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Pas Buch der Violine,ZUrich: Atlantis. 1972. Hannoojelehre fUr Geiger, Wilhelrnshaven, 1984.

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The MaiPc Bow: a Romance of Paganini,New-York: Harper, 1940.

Kraft, Zendo von.

GroBe Musj\ler. Munich:J.F. Lehmann, 1961

Krizek, A,

Hand-Kultur, Leipzig: FriedrichHofmeister, 1905.

Krone. E.

See: Kross, Emil.

Kross, Emil.

Studium der 24 Capricen, Mainz: Schott, 1900. [English version as: The Study ofPaganini's Twenty-fourCaprices, trl. by Gustav Saenger, New-York: Carl Fischer, 1908.

Kulenkampff, Georg. (>Hess)

Geigerische BetrachlUngen, Regensburg,GustavBosse, 1952.

La Mara (Marie Lipsius] (editor)

Franz Liszts Briefe (8 vol.), Leipzig, 1893-1905. [On Paganini, see vel. I. p.7. LeU,r [Q Pierre Wolff of2 May 1832}

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L'Eco\eFrancaise de Vjolon de Lully ~ Vioni. Pelagrave, Paris, 1924.

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Secret de Paganjnj: sa maojere de travaille[' IDQyeos avec lesqyels jI

est parvenu aexecuter ses prodiiieuses djfficultes, Paris: Schonenberger, 1872.

Leo XlI (Pope)

Djlecto Filip Njcolao Paganini, Datum Romae: apud Sanctum

Petrum, sub Annulo Piscatorisdie m. Aprilis MDCCCXXVII [Ie" of Paganini's nomination as Knight of the Order of the Golden Spur.

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Lewin, R.

"The Secret", in:The Strad LX (Sept. 1949), p.137-140 (Oct.1949), p.169-174). "Left of Right", in: The Strad LX (Pee. 1949, p.233-236)

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Losco, Ettore. (:>Supino and Brengola)

Pagauinj et sa TechniQue

Luce,Joan.

The virtuosity and unique role of the Caprices for solo

ell

13 posjtion vjo!oojstiQue de Paganjni.

Nice: chez l'Auteur, 1991.

violin in Pietro Locatellj's "L'Ane del Vjolioo", PhD diss., University of Michigan, 1975. Lupo, B.

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Macmillan, F.

"Paganmi's Lost SecretRevealed at Last," in: Musical Courier UV/12 (December 1907), pp.I6--17.

Mantero, R.

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Le Secret de Pagauinj methode des methodes de violoD, Paris:

(:>Maino)

Hachette, 1922.

Marak, Jan and Nopp Viktor

~,Prague:

Marcelli, J.

Hudebnf Matice Umelecke Besedy, 1944.

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eX de 13

sODorit~

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Maupassant, Guy de.

Sur l'Eau (written in 1887) first ed. Paris, Conard, 1908. New ed. by Gallimard, collection Foglio, 1993 [on Paganini: see pp. 46-47 of the Gallimarded.]

Mayhall, Ronald Bruce.

Tempo fluctuation in the Romantic era. PhD diss., The University of Oklahoma, 1990.

Meis, Jacinthe de.

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Secbs YioliDstuDden. RUschlikon-ZUricb, 1973.

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Mercer. David S. (editor)

Festschrift Ian Seslivka. The Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music. University of Tasmania, 1982.

Metzner, Paul R.

Crescendo of the Virtuoso" Virtuosity jn Paris dyring the age of

Revolution. a study of personality and values, PhDdiss.. University of Washington, 1989. [Paganini 's name is listed alongside those of Vidocq, Liszt, Careme. Cuvier; and Napoleon)

Miramon Fitz-james, Berenger de.

Paianini II Marsejlle 1837-1839. Marseille: ilia Librairie Fueri, 1841.

Moens-Haenen, Greta.

Das Vibrato in der Musik des Barnck. Graz: Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1988.

Mompellio, Federico (editor).

Facsimile Drtbe autoiraob manuscript of Paianinj's 24 Caprices Milan, Ricordi, 1974.

Monterosso. Raffaello (editor).

NicolO Paianini e ;1

SilO

temoo. Genoa: Citra di Genova. 1982.

[Contains articles by : 1) Cerofolini, Fulvio. "Saluto al convegno" 2)Monterosso. Raffaell0."L'Edizione Nazionale delle Musiche di Paganini: premessa alla risccperta di un muslcista" 3)Puncuh, Dino. "La

cultura genovese in eta paganiaiaaa" 4) Croll. Gerhard. "Paganini a Vienna 1828. La prima tappa della sua prima tcurnee aU'estero" 5) PuPPO. Mario. "Divinita e dernonismo delta. musica nella cultura romantica" 6) Pistone. Daniele. "La fortuna d.i Paganini in Francia" 7) Mompellio, Federico. "La «lezione» di Paganini" 8) Salone. Anna Maria/Amalberti Fausto. "Documenti Paganiniani del1'Archivio di State di Genova" 9)Martinotti. Sergio. "La musica strumentale italiana nel prime onocemo" LO) Macdonald. Hugh. "Paganini inScotland" 11) Lesure.Francois. "Paganini aLucques: nouvelles sources" 12)Cantu. Albeno."Derivazioni. attegiamenti e novita del violinismo paganiniano"13) Rosenthal. Albi. "An intriguing copy of Paganini's 'Capricci' and its implications" 14) Iscua, Paolo. "Trasposiaioni

planisuche di Paganini" 15) Monterosso, RaffaeUo. "Chiusura del Ccnvegno con la presenza del presidente della Repubblica", 29 October 1982. Montgomery. Colonel Maxwell.

My Adventures. Genoa, 1815. [Conlains valuable information about Paganini and the Marquis Di Negro]

Moos, Alfred.

Per Gespenstjge Geiger das J ebeD des grossen Vjo!jn-Virtuosen NicoloPa~aninj.

Mostras, Konstantin G.

24 KanpHca

Basel: R.O.Zbinden. 1924.

alia Ckpt1DKH Cono H IIarWHHM, Mocxsa:

rocv llAPCTBEHHOE MY3blKAJlbHOE H311ATE!lbCTBO, 1959 (24 Kaprisa dla skripki solo N. Paganini, Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe Muzikal'noe Izdatel'stvo 1959)

283

Dje IntonatioD auf clef Vjo!jne (German translation by Karl Kramer)

Hofheim am Taunus: Friedrich Hofmeister, 1961. Neill, Edward,

"Studi e Capricci prima di Paganini" in: Quademi dell'lstituio di Srudi Paganiniani, N"6, Genoa (October 1990), p. 25. NicolO Paganjnj' 13 vita aUraverSQ Ie opere j document; e le

immagjni, Genoa: Cassa di rispannio di Genovae Imperia,1978. Paganin; £Pistalado, Genoa: Comune di Genova, 1982. II ~(PrimQ Coocerto» dj Paganjnj' jndagjnj e riSCOotri. Roma-

Torino:ERl, Edizioni RAI, Radiotelevisione Italiana, 1987 II CayaliereFjlannnnjco.Genoa: De Ferrari, 1990. Neumann, Frederick,

Vjolin Left HandTechnjque.Urbana: ASTA, 1969.

Norden, N, Lindsay.

"A new theory of untempered music", in: The Musical Quarterly XXII (1936), pp. 217-233.

Nunamaker, Nonnan Kilt.

The vjrtuoso Concerto before Paganjnj' the Concertos ofLo!)i.

Giomovjchj and Woldemar. PhD diss., Indiana University, 1968. Catalogo IematjcQ delle Musjche di Niceoia Paganjnj, Genoa:

Moretti, Maria RJ Sorrento Anna. [M.S.]

Comune di Genova, 1982.

Paganini, Niccolo.

"Autobiografia", in: Almanacco Musicale. Storico, Estetico,

UmoristicoMilan: Tito Ricordi, 1853 (verbatim transcript by Peter Lichtentbal of a conversationwith Paganini in Milan, on 28 February 1828, just before the latter's departurefor Vienna). [French version as: "Notice surPaganini ecrite par lui-merne" in: Revue Musicale, Paris, 1I September, 1830.German versionas: "Selbstbiographie" in: AllgemeineMusikalische Zeitung, Leipzig, N"20,1830] Progettj dj Regolamento per 13 Ducale Orchestra dj Pannae perun'Accademia da erigersi nelIastessa Cjtttl umjeJiari aUa Maest4 di Maria Luigia

dal Barone NicolO Paganjnj I'AnDo J 836. State Archives of Parma. (reproduced in Neill's Cavaliere Annonico, pp. 299-311). Payne,Edward.

"Trornba Marina", in: Grove's Dictionaryof Music and Musicians,

first edition, IV, p.175 ["Paganini's extraordinary effecrs in harmonics on a single string were in fact produced by temporarily converting his violin to a small marine trumpet. As is wen known, that clever player placedhis single fourth string on the treble side of the bridge, screwing it up to a very high pitch, and leaving the bass foot of the bridge comparatively loose."]

Payton, Leonard Richard.

Contrabass baODoDjc potential" a study jn acoustics and compositon

PhD diss.. Universityof Califorrtia San Diego. 1988. Penesco, Anne. (>Pasquier)

"Paganini et l'ecole de violon franco-beige" in: Revue Internationale de Musique Froncaise. N"9, November 1982, pp.17-60.

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L'apAAn de Pjiianini a la technique du VjoJQD, MMus thesis, University of Paris IV, 1974. Pearson, Roger.

Stendhal's Violin, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988.

Pereira, Ernest.

Twentieth-century violin technique, DMA diss., The University of Texas at Austin, 1987.

Pincherle, Marc.

The World of the Virtuoso. trl. by L.H. Brockway, New-York:

Norton, 1963. Les Instruments du Ouatuor. Paris: P.U.F., 1947. Pipes, Charlotte. cent YO' Pistone, Daniele.

A study of six selected coloratura "Mad Scenes" in njneteentbQIll:[ll.

DMA diss., Louisiana Stale University, 1990.

"Paganini et Paris", in:Revue lnternationale de Musique Franfaise.

N"9, November 1982, pp.7-16. "Manifeste et Musique en France", in: Revue lntemationale de Musique Francoise, N"20. June 1986. Pizzetti, lldebrando.

NiccolO Pa~anini. Turin: Edizioni Arione, 1940.

Polko, Elise Vogel. (>Garcia)

NiccolO Pa~anini und die Gei~enbauer, Leipzig: Schlicke, 1876.

Polnauer, Frederick.

Senso-MotQr Study and its Application to Vjolin Playjne. Urbana: ASTA, 1964. [The author. invoking the authority of Tasmanian speech teacher F.M. Alexander, uses himselfas the subject of senso-motor studies related to violin playing and tries top reproduce Paganini's playing posture. Bilateral bowing is found to be "the most essential prerequisite in recreating Paganini's method of bowing".]

Plantinga, Leon.

Romantic Music. New-York: W.W.Norton, 1984.

Powroznik, JOseph.

Paganini. Krakow:Wyd. Muzyczna. 1982.(frrst ed., 19S8)

Praetorius, Michael.

Synlagma rousjcum, Wolfenbuttel, 1619, R Cassel: Documenta Musicologica, 19S8

Prefurno, Danilo I Cantu, Alberto.

Le Opere d;

Principe, Remy,

II Vjoliuo' manuale dj cultura e didanica violonjstjca. Milan: Curci.

(>De Guarnieri)

19S\.

Prod'homme, Jacques Gabriel.

Pa~anini.

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Reuter, Florizel von.

Psychical Experiences of a Musicjan, London: Simpkin Marshall [in his introduction to this intriguing work, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle writes: "...The reader has that remarkable odyssey of psychical adventure before him, and canjudge for himself. I can only say that where I have myself concerned in the experiments, as in the most remarkable Charles Dickens incident, I can answer for the restrained accuracy of the account. .. In the case of Paganini there were special bonds of sympathy which

explain the very close relationship which seems to exist between himself and Florizel von Reuter".] Rietmann, Carlo Marcello

II Violino e Genova, Genoa: SAGEP, 1975.

Ronze-Neveu, M.-J.

Ginette Neveu, Paris: Pierre Horay, 1952.

Rostal, Max (>Rose and Flesch)

Gedanken zur!utemretatioD dec Klavjer-ViQUn SQuateu von I. van

Rothschild, F.

The Lost Tradition in Music (2vol.), London & New-York, 1961.

Sabatini, Renzo. (>Principe)

I "Ane dj Studjare j 24 Capriccj dj Pagaoini per Vjoliuo, Milan:

Sachs, Harvey

Virtuoso. London: Thames and Hudson, 1982.

Sartorelli, Fausto

L'UoIDO Vjoliuo - Paganiui, Rome: Edizioni Abete, 1981.

Salzedo, S.L.

paganinj's Secret at I ast, London: Nicholson & Watson, 1946.

Salvaneschi, Dino.

Un vioUna 23 donne e

Beethoven, Munich: Piper,1984.

Ricordi, 1937.

jJ

djavo!o' la vjta ardente di NiccoJO

Pa&aninj, Milan: Corbaccio, 1938. Saussine, Renee de.

Pa&an;nj Ie Ma,pcien. preface de Jacques Ihibaud, Paris: Gallimard, 1938. [English trl. as: Paganini. transl. by Marjorie Laurie, London: Hutchinson, 1953].

Le Violon Hannooique ses reSSQurces son emploi danS les ecoles

Sauzay, Eugene (e-Baillor) «Flesch)

ancjennes et modernes, Paris. 1889. _

Scher, Steven Paul.

Verbal Mysjc in Genna" I,jterature, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968.

Sheppard, LeslielHerbert Axelrod.

Paganini, Neptune City (NJ): Paganiniana Publications, 1979.

Scholes, Percy A.

The Oxford Companion to Music. London: O.U.P.,1955.

Schottky, Julius Max.

Pagaoini's Leben lInd Ireiben als KjinstJer pnd als Mensch, Prague:

J.G. Calve, 1830; RPrague: Taussig &Taussig, 1909; Walluf:

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Sandig-Reprint, 19091 R1974.

Schwandt, Eric.

"Capriccio", in :The New Grove Dictionary of Musjc and Musicians,

vol. m, p. 758, London: Macmillan, 1994. ., Schwarz, Boris. (>Flesch and Capet)

"Paganini, Nicolo". in: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and

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Musicians, vol.14, pp. 86-90,London:MacmiUan, 1980. Grea! Masters of the Violin. New-York: Simon & Schuster, 1983.

Universal Edition, 1975. [Contributors: DavidBoyden, Erich Doflein, LudwigFinscher,Brigitte Geiser,Lev Ginsburg. Conrad von der Goltz,Peter Guth, Friedrich von Hausegger, Max Heider. Susanne Klein-Vogelbach, RudolfKolisch, Jan Kratina, Marianne Kraemer, Christophe-Hellmut Mahling. SonyaMonosoff, WolfgangMUllerNishio, Rudolf Pecman, ErichRaschl, Francis Rosner, Prof. Max Rostal, Wofgang Schneiderhahn, Baris Schwarz. VeraSchwarz. Hans Sittner,Rudolf Stephan, Gerhard Stradner, KarlHeinrich vonStumpff, Dimitris Themelis, HelgaThoene,Christoph Wagner, Manfred Wagner. Aristide Wiesta]. Scaramelli, G.

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Seashore, Carl.

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Md Playing, Iowacity, 1936. "24 x Paganini" in: Hudebni Rozhledy XIVI2l (1961) p.920. (review of three recorded versions of the 24 Caprices -Ricci. Renardy and Ivan Kawaciuk. Tthe Czech violinist Karel Srobek. who played the Caprices in concert, but did not record them is mentioned]

Sevcik. Otakar.

Skala houslvehQ prednesu DR oodklade melodjckem, op.16, Brunn: Pazdirek, (>Bennewitz)l929. Analytical Studies for Pa'laninj Concerto N°l, op.20. Bmo:

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A comparison oeselected I,iszt and Schumann pianO transcriptions of

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Spronk, J,EW.

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Stendhal (Henri Beyle). (\ 783-1842)

Vie de Rossini, Paris 1823. [includes a famous footnote concerning Paganini (p.4~l): " Paganini, le premier violon d'ltalie et

peut-etre du monde, est dans ce moment un jeune homme de trente-cinq ans, aux yeux ncirs et pe~~ts. et ala chevelure touffue ... II ne faut pas

entendre Paganini lorsqu'il cherche

aluner avec des violons du Nord

dans des grands concertos, mais lorsqu'il jane des caprices une soiree ou it est en verve. Je me hate d'ajouter que ces caprices sent plusdifficiles qu'aucun concerto."]

Stolba, Maria.

A history oftbe violin Etude to about l800, PhD diss., University of

Iowa, 1965. Stowell, Robin.

Vjolin technjQue and perfoDDauce practice jn the late eighteenth and

early njneteenth centuries, Cambridge: C.U.P., 1985. "Paganini, technical innovator?", in: The Strad vol. 93, N" 1110 (Oct.i982), pp. 397-399)

Straeten, E. van der.

The HjstQry Qfthe VjQlin (2vol.) New-York: Da Capo Press, 1968.

Stuber, Jutta.

Dje Intonation des Geigers. Bonn: Verlag fur systematische Musikwissenschaft, 1989.

Suder,Alexander.

NicolO Paa-anini KOnig det Geiger, Basel:Lux. 1960.

Sugden, John.

Pa~aninj'

Suggia, Guilhennina.

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Targonsky, Y.B.

The Harmonics on String Instruments, with an introduction by N.A.

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"Letteraa MaddalenaLombardini Sirmen" in: Europa Letteraria vol. V, part 2 (Venice 1770), pp. 74 sqq. [Engl. version as: An Important Lesson to penQwers Qn the VjQ!jn' a Leller tQ SignQra LQmbardjnj. padua 5 March 1760. trl. by Dr. Bumey(l771) RoC 2nd edition London, 1913.

Taruskin,Richard.

"Chemomorto Kashei: Harmonic Sorcery or Stravinski's «angle»", in: Journal of the American Musical Society XXXVllIJI (Spring 1985)pp.72-142.

Themelis, Dimitris.

EntstebuDvgeschjchte def VjoUnetiide: aUgemeinne. spjeltecbnische

YI1d musikaljscbeVoraussetzungen his zur Griindung des Pariset CQnseryatQire, PhD thesis.University oCMunich,1964. "Violintechnik und Methodikin der Violinetiide um 1800", in:

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