A useful and interesting disc that throws light on the seldom-explored
chamber music repertoire of Paganini away from the famed 24 solo violin
Caprices. Most clearly it reveals Paganini as an innovator and genius as far
as exploiting the technical potential of the violin is concerned but very
limited as a composer of music of enduring worth once the pyrotechnics have
been stripped away.
Of especial interest here is that violinist Luca Fanfoni is performing on
one of Paganini's own violins; the famed 1743 Guarneri del Gesù
'Il Cannone'. This was the instrument that Paganini used for
much of his career bequeathing it to the city of Genoa on his death.
Remarkably, the city has ensured that the instrument remains in perfect
playing condition and it can be heard on several other recordings including
an entire disc from the brilliant jazz violinist Regina Carter. Fanfoni
proves to be a worthy heir and it is impossible to listen to this disc and
not applaud the sheer scale of the act of learning over an hours-worth of
such technically demanding music. I also like the fact that he plays with -
one imagines - Paganini-like bravura and attack. There's no treading
on historic eggshells here. He plays this priceless instrument as though it
were fresh from the workshop and fully deserving its 'cannone'
nickname which Paganini gave it to reflect the power and brilliance of its
sound. In passing, I see that Dynamic have produced another disc featuring
this instrument with Salvatore Accardo in 2000. Accardo plays a mixed
recital - curiously no Paganini at all. Likewise they have recorded Massimo
Quarta playing the concertos on the same fiddle.
The recording for this CD was made in the violins hall in Genoa -
presumably in part for security and safety reasons. It is a good if not
exceptional recording venue; possibly slightly over-resonant. The Dynamic
recording is good with the solo instrument always prominent but given a
slightly different perspective over the three days of recording depending on
the accompaniment involved. The disc implies that the only premiere
recording is that of the opening
Sonata a Preghiera
'Mosé'. Even here, the premiered element is the
introduction which was known to exist in a set of orchestral parts but
without the solo element. The liner details the discovery of the missing
early sections in a library in Parma - where Fanfoni teaches and Paganini is
buried. This is one of the works Paganini wrote to be performed entirely on
the lowest string of the violin. From the opening the intensity of tone
Fanfoni produces is quite remarkable even if slightly wearing over the near
ten minutes of the work. Indeed, regarding the disc in general, an hour of
pure violinistic display is something of a challenge even in as skilled and
committed hands as here. The thematic material for this work comes from
Rossini's opera of the same name and along with the
Grand
Concerto and the
Six Preludes embodies the virtuosic
brilliance of Paganini's writing. Indeed much of the interest of this
disc is being able to hear how he moved from the essentially
classically-influenced early
Three Ritornelli to the early Romantic
brilliance of these later works.
In the
Ritornelli Fanfoni is joined by another violin and cello.
The music is particularly slight and for the lead/solo part some of the
least demanding music Paganini ever wrote. The major musical disappointment
is just how little dialogue Paganini seeks to generate between the three
instruments. The second violin and cello are given very basic accompaniments
and no more. Simple double-stopping and arpeggiated figurations fill in the
harmonic line and little else. The two players here do all they can with
their very limited parts; cellist Luca Simoncini has a lovely easy warmth to
his playing. This is music that has an operatic/divertimento flavour -
passingly attractive but lacking any particular personality or depth. A
comment here about the disc's frustrating presentation: the liner has
interesting session photographs including some valuable close-ups of the
violin and is written in the original Italian with a slightly wayward
English translation. Rather curiously, nowhere does the liner name the
violin
except in passing in the titling of a single photograph.
Nowhere is any technical information given about the violin, the strings or
bow used or indeed its current condition. Is this disc played at modern
pitch for instance? I think it is. If so, it would have been good to know
whether any adaptations were made to the violin to allow for the higher
tensioning this would require. The omissions continue: the second violinist
is a young player - Daniele Fanfoni. I assume he is related to Luca Fanfoni;
he also studied in Parma but why not say so. Also of interest to violin fans
- and again mentioned only in passing - is the fact that the younger Fanfoni
plays on a copy of the main violin. To quote from the web: "When in
need of repair,
Il Cannone would be sent to the workshop
of
Jean
Baptiste Vuillaume (1798–1875) in Paris, the greatest
luthier of his day.
Not only did Vuillaume repair the Guarnerius, but he also made an exact
replica. The copy was so precise in every detail of construction and
appearance, that not even Paganini could distinguish one from the other. It
was not until Paganini noticed subtle differences in tone that he could
identify the original. Paganini presented the copy to his student,
Camillo
Sivori." Sadly the music allows the listener almost no opportunity
to compare and contrast the two instruments for themselves. Why on earth
Dynamic does not flag up this rare and rather special opportunity I do not
know.
After the musically thin gruel of the ritornelli there is considerably
more red musical meat in the Six Preludes for Solo Violin. The liner
mentions that these works are listed as "doubtful" in the
Moretti-Sorrento catalogue of the composer's works. Each of the six
are sub-minute virtuoso studies and again brilliantly dispatched by Fanfoni.
There are two more brief fragments which Paganini seems to have tossed off
as gifts to the great and the good - people he met on his triumphal tours.
Again they both stress the display element but are little gems. Little is
not the word that can be applied to the longest work here,
The Grande
Concerto in E minor. This exists in an orchestrated form as the sixth
violin concerto but we are given the original version here for violin and
guitar. The title 'sixth' is misleading since this is again an
earlier work which sits stylistically between late classical and early
romantic poles of Paganini's compositional style. The opening
movement runs to over twenty-two minutes which makes it Paganini's
single longest opening movement. All the technical tricks are on display -
complex double-stopping, ricochet bowing, stratospheric writing of
ridiculous intricacy all given the bravura treatment here. I am sure there
are some modern players who can produce performances of even greater
sanitised perfection than Fanfoni but I like very much that he gives
performances with a big personality, bags of character and plenty of
technical address. His attentive and skilled accompanist is guitarist
Fabrizio Giudice. The guitar is given a lengthy solo introduction to the
work and has other 'solo' passages but as soon as the violin
enters the guitar is reduced to a very subsidiary role. That said, the
Dynamic recording is actually rather good at maintaining a balance between
the two instruments where the guitar is audible and has an attractive warmth
and bloom to its sound. Both players make the best case for the work but I
do find twenty minutes plus of unrelenting virtuosity rather draining. That
being the case the four minute simple
Adagio that follows is
something of a balm - and very beautifully played here. The closing
Rondo has the benefit of being half the length of the opening
movement which feels about the right duration for another musical
sampler/testbed for what Paganini discovered was possible on the violin.
Dynamic have produced various recitals and collections over the years of
Paganini's works. Indeed I would suggest that they have recorded more
Paganini than just about any other company. That said, a disc such as this -
even where repertoire can be found elsewhere - is by definition unique. Add
the 'presence' of Paganini's favourite instrument and a
committed and intelligent performer and this has real value. If only Dynamic
had taken a little more time with the presentation and I could find greater
musical depth in the actual compositions I would be happy indeed.
Nick Barnard
