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24 Caprices for Solo Violin (Paganini)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1 was written by Niccol Paganini between 1802 and 1817 and published in 1819.[1] They are also designated as M.S. 25 in Maria Rosa Moretti and Anna Sorrento's Catalogo tematico delle musiche di Niccol Paganini, which was published in 1982. The caprices have an tude-esque structure, with each caprice studying individual skills (double stopped trills, extremely fast switching of positions and strings, etc.)

History
Paganini began composing the caprices after completing his study in Parma with Pietro Locatelli.[2] Edition Peters rst published them in 1819; Ricordi later published another edition in 1821. When Paganini released his caprices, he dedicated them "to the Artists" rather than to a specic person.

Niccol Paganini

The twenty-four caprices

Caprice No. 1 in E major: Andante Caprice No. 2 in B minor: Moderato Caprice No. 3 in E minor: Sostenuto Presto Caprice No. 4 in C minor: Maestoso Caprice No. 5 in A minor: Agitato Caprice No. 6 in G minor: Lento Caprice No. 7 in A minor: Posato Caprice No. 8 in E-at major: Maestoso Caprice No. 9 in E major: Allegretto Caprice No. 10 in G minor: Vivace Caprice No. 11 in C major: Andante Presto Caprice No. 12 in A-at major: Allegro Caprice No. 13 in B-at major: Allegro Caprice No. 14 in E-at major: Moderato Caprice No. 15 in E minor: Posato Caprice No. 16 in G minor: Presto Caprice No. 17 in E-at major: Sostenuto Andante Caprice No. 18 in C major: Corrente: Allegro Caprice No. 19 in E-at major: Lento Allegro Assai Caprice No. 20 in D major: Allegretto Caprice No. 21 in A major: Amoroso: Presto

Contents
1 History 2 The twenty-four caprices 3 Forms of the Caprices 3.1 Caprice No. 1 3.2 Caprice No. 2 3.3 Caprice No. 3 3.4 Caprice No. 4 3.5 Caprice No. 5 3.6 Caprice No. 6 3.7 Caprice No. 7 3.8 Caprice No. 8 3.9 Caprice No. 9 3.10 Caprice No. 10 3.11 Caprice No. 11 3.12 Caprice No. 12 3.13 Caprice No. 13 3.14 Caprice No. 14 3.15 Caprice No. 15 3.16 Caprice No. 16

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Caprice No. 22 in F major: Marcato Caprice No. 23 in E-at major: Posato Caprice No. 24 in A minor: Tema con Variazioni: Quasi Presto

Forms of the Caprices

Caprice No. 1
Nicknamed "L'Arpeggio", this composition matches chordal playing with ricochet across all 4 strings. The piece opens in E Major and then quickly transitions into an E minor development section, where descending scales in thirds are introduced.

3.17 Caprice No. 17 3.18 Caprice No. 18 3.19 Caprice No. 19 3.20 Caprice No. 20 3.21 Caprice No. 21 3.22 Caprice No. 22 3.23 Caprice No. 23 3.24 Caprice No. 24 4 References 5 Sources

Caprice No. 2
The second caprice in B minor focuses on detache with many string crossings across non-adjacent strings.

Caprice No. 3
Caprice No. 3 is a slurred legato exercise with octave trills in the introduction and conclusion.

Caprice No. 4
Caprice No. 4 is an exercise featuring passages with many multiple stops.

Caprice No. 5
Main article: Caprice No. 5 (Paganini) This caprice focuses on fast ricochet bowings. It begins with a section of ascending arpeggios followed by descending scales.

Caprice No. 6
The sixth caprice exploits the use of left-hand tremolo on the violin by quickly alternating between different notes in the chord in one of the voices. A melody is played in one line with a tremolo occurring on another.

Caprice No. 7
This caprice focuses on slurred staccato passages, featuring many long slurred scales and arpeggios.

Caprice No. 8 Caprice No. 9

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Nicknamed "La Chasse" or "The Hunt", the violin's A and E strings imitate the utes ("Sulla tastiera imitando il Flauto"), while the G & D strings imitate the horns ("imitando il Corno sulla D e G corda"). Primarily a study in double stops, with ricochet occurring in the middle section.

Caprice No. 10
This caprice is primarily a study in up-bow staccato, with staccato notes punctuated by chords, trills and distant string crossings.

Caprice No. 11 Caprice No. 12

This caprice consists of a slurred pattern of a melody on an upper string alternating with a drone note on a bottom string, forcing the violinist to stretch great distances while keeping a nger on the drone string.

Caprice No. 13
Main article: Caprice No. 13 (Paganini)

Caprice No. 14
The 14th caprice displays the violin's ability to voice chords. It contains many triple and quadruple stops. Stylistically, the piece imitates brass fanfares.

Caprice No. 15 Caprice No. 16

Main article: Caprice No. 16 (Paganini)

Caprice No. 17
The "A" section contains numerous thirty-second note runs on the A and E strings that converse back and forth with double stops on the lower two strings. The middle section is famous for the incredibly difcult octave passage.

Caprice No. 18
The introduction to Caprice 18 demonstrates playing on the G string in very high positions. This is followed by a rapid display of scales in thirds.

Caprice No. 19 Caprice No. 20

Caprice 20 is famous for the use of the D string as a drone, backdropping a lyrical melody on the A and E strings. This is followed by a rapid sixteenth note passage with trills and ying staccato.

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Caprice No. 21
Caprice 21 begins with a very expressive, aria-like melody played in double-stopped sixths. This is followed by a section of rapid up-bow staccato.

Caprice No. 22 Caprice No. 23

Caprice No. 23 begins with a melody in octaves in E-at. The middle, contrasting section is a formidable exercise in string crossings: it requires the violinist to play patterns of 3 sixteenth notes on the G string and then cross quickly to play one on the E string, and then back to the G string, all at a quick tempo.

Caprice No. 24
Main article: Caprice No. 24 (Paganini) The theme from Caprice No. 24 is well known, and has been used as the basis for many pieces by a wide variety of composers. This caprice uses a wide range of advanced techniques such as horrendously fast scales and arpeggios, double and triple stops, left hand pizzicato, parallel octaves and tenths, rapid shifting, and strings crossings.

References
1. ^ Urtext edition of the caprices is published by Peters. 24_Caprices_for_Solo_Violin,_Op.1_(Paganini,_Niccol): Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project. 2. ^ Stratton, p. 12

Sources
Stratton, Stephen (1907). Nicolo Paganini: his life and work. E. Shore & Co.. ISBN 0-55-980636-1.

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