Release Date: 19 May 2017
Label: Avie
Packaging Type: Brilliant Case (Jewel Case size, Holds 2 CDs)
No of Units: 2
Barcode: 822252237429
Genres: Classical Solo Instrumental
Description
Violinist Rachel Barton Pine performs Paganini's 24 Caprices with virtuosic flair and reverence to the bel canto style of the composer's generation. Rounding out the two-album set are Paganini's "Duet for One", Caprice d'adieu and Introduction and Variations on 'Nel cor più non mi sento', and Rachel's own Paganini-inspired Introduction, Theme and Variations on 'God Defend New Zealand'.
Billboard chart-topping violinist Rachel Barton Pine traverses Paganini's ground breaking set of 24 Caprices with virtuosic flair and, in equal measure, reverence for the bel canto – or "beautiful singing" – style of the composer's generation. Playing on the 'ex-Bazzini, ex-Soldat' Guarneri del Gesù violin from 1742 – made by the same Cremona-based maker in the same year as Paganini's own violin – Rachel channels the composer's own technical wizardry as well as his love for beautiful melodies.
Rachel was first introduced to Paganini's Caprices at the age of six. In her early 20s she gave her first performance of all 24 Caprices in a single concert, a feat she has accomplished several times since including at the National Gallery in Washington D.C. and the Ravinia Festival.
Rachel fills out this two-album set with other pyrotechnical works by Paganini, including his "Duet for One", Caprice d'adieu and the Introduction and Variations on 'Nel cor più non mi sento' from Giovanni Paisiello's 8232; opera La molinara. Inspired by Paganini's legacy of virtuosic themes and variations, Rachel concludes the set with her own Introduction, Theme and Variations on 'God Defend New Zealand', written in 2000 for the final concert of her first tour of that country.
Paganini dedicated his 24 Caprices "to all the artists." Rachel in turn dedicates this recording "to all the listeners," of which there will be legions.
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"Poise and precision … This is a delightful set, beautifully performed and presented … another major addition to Pine's impressive discography" - MusicWeb International, Recording of the Month (on Mozart Complete Violin Concertos and Sinfonia Concertante, AV2317)
"Playing that feels entirely at the service of Bach's profound music, but in the best possible way: a powerful and personal performance of these masterpieces for solo violin." - Gramophone, Editor's Choice (on Testament: Complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by J. S. Bach, AV2360).
Tracklisting
Christoph Croise; Andrey Baranov; Alexander Panfilov
The Orchestra Now; Leon Botstein
Donald Berman
Lauren Scott
East of the River
Sebastian Bohren, Sergei Bolkhovets, Munchener Kammerorchester
Cantata Collective; Nicholas McGegan
Yoshika Masuda, HyeJin Kim
Rachel Barton Pine, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Andrew Litton
Rachel Barton Pine, Teddy Abrams, Royal Scottish National Or
Rachel Barton Pine, Matthew Lipman, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields & Sir Neville Marriner
