Cantabile

Caprice No.24 - arranged by Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)

The greatest violinist of his time, Paganini was also one of the most influential composers, not so much because of the quality of his musical invention as because of his phenomenal command of violin technique. What he could do with the violin, both as a performer and as a composer, was such a revelation that greater composers - not least piano specialists like Schumann and Liszt - were inspired to emulate his breakthrough achievements in other areas. In a work like his famous Twenty-Four Caprices for unaccompanied violin the technical interest is such that it transcends mere virtuosity.

The Cantabile, which was written originally for violin and guitar (Paganini was also a considerable guitarist), is not a virtuoso piece in the conventional sense. It is an example of how effortlessly and effectively he could persuade a violin to sustain an appealing melodic line - which is a less sensational but no less valuable kind of virtuosity. The last of the Twenty-Four Caprices, on the other hand, is virtuoso in every sense. Based on a theme which has fascinated generations of later composers - Brahms, Rachmaninov, and Lutoslawksi most prominent among them - it explores a challenging variety of left-hand and bowing techniques in a series of eleven short variations and a brilliant finale. Today’s performance is given in a version by the Polish composer Karol Szymanowski who, while leaving the violin part much as Paganini wrote it, supplied piano accompaniments to the whole set of Caprices.