Niccolò PAGANINI (1782-1840)
Violin Concerto No 2: III. Rondo ‘La Campanella’ (arr. Kreisler)
[5:54]
Introduction and Variations on ‘Non piu mesta’ from Rossini’s
La cenerentola (arr. Kreisler) [12:34]
Moto perpetuo (arr. Kreisler) [4:16]
24 Caprices: No. 13 in B flat (arr. Kreisler) [4:06]
24 Caprices: No 20 in D (arr. Kreisler) [2:54]
Le streghe (arr. Kreisler) [12:13]
24 Caprices: No 24 in A minor (arr. Kreisler) [6:34]
Introduction and Variations on ‘Di tanti palpiti’ from Rossini’s
Tancredi (arr. Kreisler) [11:47]
Philippe Quint (violin); Dmitry Cogan (piano)
rec. 28-30 June 2008, Glenn Gould Studio, CBC, Toronto, Canada
NAXOS 8.570703 [60:15]
Here is a meeting of two unlikely minds: Niccolò Paganini, the ultimate
showman, the first rock star, the man who brought virtuoso solo playing to
new, undreamed-of heights, and Fritz Kreisler, the suave gentleman with a
genius for salon music and miniatures. And yet Kreisler arranged a series
of Paganini’s works for violin and piano, both works which were originally
for orchestra (like ‘La Campanella’ or ‘Le streghe’)
and works which were originally for violin alone (like the selected caprices).
This is a recital consisting entirely of such arrangements, and Paganini fans
will want to have it, but its appeal will also extend to violin aficionados
generally.
Alongside Hyperion’s “Romantic Concerto” series, the less
evocatively named Naxos series “Nineteenth Century Violin Music”
is one of the greatest gifts to violin enthusiasts in many a year. Announced
in 2007, the series aims to include major (and, frankly, minor) works by the
likes of Charles-August de Bériot, Pierre Baillot, Rodolphe Kreutzer,
Jenő Hubay, Antonio Bazzini, Jan Kalliwoda, and Ferdinand David, as well
as the complete works of Henri Vieuxtemps and Pablo de Sarasate. Grammy-nominated
violinist Philippe Quint has been an enthusiastic member of the project, having
previously recorded a slate of Beriot concertos. Now, with the Paganini/Kreisler
transcriptions, he reaches an intriguing medium between the famous and the
obscure. This is familiar music in an unfamiliar frame.
Some works are more popular than others: ‘La Campanella’ and the
twenty-fourth caprice are justly legendary, while the somewhat long-winded
variations on Rossini tunes have been consigned to the footnotes of music
history. Philippe Quint tackles them all with freshness, dazzling technique,
and a tone which is a little brighter and thinner than I like. He cannot make
satisfying the structures of the variations (which were, frankly, built to
show off Paganini’s skills to best advantage), but he can dispatch their
double stops, multiple extended harmonic passages, and occasional expressive
demands seemingly without any difficulty. As I write this, I am listening
to the Moto perpetuo and wondering not just how anyone can play this
music, but how anyone can make it sound so easy.
The twenty-fourth caprice is one of the most interesting tracks: Kreisler
could not help but write some variations of his own! The booklet helpfully
explains which of Paganini’s variations have been replaced by Kreisler’s
new inventions, which are all worthy of joining the originals - and some of
them are tougher to play: try 0:53!. Pianist Dmitry Cogan even gets his own
mini-variation (2:18), a welcome moment at the surface after spending most
of the disc submerged beneath a sea of virtuosic violin writing. Is it just
me, or do the capacious chords of that little piano solo invoke another composer
associated with this tune: Rachmaninoff?
The Caprice No 20 in D begins as a surprisingly lyrical, lovely invention
thanks to Kreisler’s (and Cogan’s) singing piano accompaniment,
and Quint squeezes every bit of romance out of the main theme. The central
section is still a ferocious technical challenge for the violin. Le Streghe
(“Witches”) doesn’t sound very devilish until its conclusion,
but it is witty and gives Quint plenty of chances to show off. The ‘I
Palpiti’ variations close the recital, beginning with another chance
for Cogan to reveal his sensitive playing style, before Quint delivers the
gorgeous main tune and shrugs off several minutes of adventures in the violin’s
highest register.
The sound is good, but I have heard some of Philippe Quint’s other discs
on which his violin playing is presented in a more flattering light. Here
the tone is a bit too bright, too thin, although it got better when I cranked
up the volume. There is one poorly-done edit, at 7:58 on ‘Le Streghe.’
One more production note: this is one of the first Naxos discs to not have
any white space on the cover. The trend began a few months ago, with (I think)
the Alfredo Casella series, and seems to be expanding as it goes along. Maybe
in a few years’ time the old white covers with little paintings and
Times font will be gone. That really would leave me irrationally nostalgic.
But back to the disc at hand: if you are not very passionate about Paganini,
or the violin in general, I do have to warn that much of this music originally
consisted of brazen showing-off and Kreisler did not get in the way of that
goal. For the mere casual fan of virtuosic violin pieces, the recital can
be hard to enjoy in one sitting.
On the other hand, if you love the music of Paganini, or if you are collecting
the Nineteenth Century Violin series, you will definitely want to hear this
recital. The best all-around recital of Paganini music arranged for violin
and piano probably remains Pavel šporcl’s on Supraphon with pianist
Petr Jirikovsky. It features arrangements by a number of tinkerers and has
fuller sound. šporcl has a more genial tone but, especially as šporcl
does not play ‘La campanella’ or the twenty-fourth caprice, there
is room for the two albums on one shelf. Violin aficionados are strongly advised
to follow that course and listen to both.
Brian Reinhart
Familiar repertoire heard in a new light, but mainly for connoisseurs.