Niccolò Paganini 1782–1840

Niccolò Paganini 1782–1840 24 Capricci Op.1 arranged for solo flute by Marina Piccinini 1 No.1 in E: Andante 3.00 13 No.13 in B flat: Allegro 3.15 2 No.2 in B minor: Moderato 5.02 14 No.14 in E flat: Moderato 1.32 3 No.3 in E minor: Sostenuto – Presto – 3.44 15 No.15 in E minor: Posato 3.30 Sostenuto 16 No.16 in G minor: Presto 1.55 4 No.4 in C minor: Maestoso 9.22 17 No.17 in E flat: Sostenuto – Andante 5.08 5 No.5 in A minor: Agitato 3.08 18 No.18 in C: Corrente 2.51 6 No.6 in G minor: Lento 7.34 19 No.19 in E flat: Lento – Allegro assai 3.18 7 No.7 in A minor: Posato 5.09 20 No.20 in D: Allegretto 3.49 8 No.8 in E flat: Maestoso 4.09 21 No.21 in A: Amoroso – Presto 3.40 9 No.9 in E: Allegretto 3.10 22 No.22 in F: Marcato 3.34 10 No.10 in G minor: Vivace 3.31 23 No.23 in E flat: Posato 3.09 11 No.11 in C: Andante – Presto – 5.15 24 No.24 in A minor: Quasi presto 5.36 Andante 12 No.12 in A flat: Allegro 5.27 Marina Piccinini flute For RAP Publisher: Schott Music Germany · Edition no. ED30116 Recording: 10–12 October 2012, Reitstadel, Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Germany Producer, balance engineer and editing: Markus Heiland, Tritonus Musikproduktion GmBH Artist photography: Marco Borggreve Design: Georgina Curtis for WLP Ltd. ൿ 2014 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by Marina Piccinini. Ꭿ 2014 Marina Piccinini Marketed by Avie Records www.avie-records.com DDD Introduction Paganini’s own unusual dedication ‘Alli Artisti’ (‘To the Artists’) at the beginning of the 24 Capricci marks the emergence of the artist as an independent, significant member of society. Paganini’s perception of the role of the artist was both idealistic and pragmatic; his vision coupled a commitment to his art with a subtle psychological understanding of the listener’s need, and in the Capricci he presented the world with the possibility of high instrumental virtuosity as a tool for great artistic achievement, a medium for musicians who were willing to delve further into the mysteries of art. The great pianist Alfred Cortot was later to proclaim the Capricci, along with Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes and Chopin’s Études, as ‘inaccessible to the musician without virtuosity as they are to the virtuoso without musicianship.’ Since their first publication in 1820, the undisputed importance of the Capricci in the violin repertoire has stimulated creative exploration by extending the limits of the instrument, opening up a new dimension in musical language and encouraging the elaboration of new pedagogical approaches. But their uncommon inspirational potential has given creative impetus not just to violinists, but also to other composers and instrumental virtuosi. I was drawn to transcribe and record all the Capricci as a challenge and stimulus for my own development, a path towards pushing the envelope outside my personal comfort zone. What I discovered and fell in love with was a musical voice that demanded a far greater emotional expression through technical perfection of phrasing, flexibility of embouchure, depth of sound, breath control, digital dexterity and precise articulation. Ꭿ Marina Piccinini, 2014 The edition of Paganini’s Capricci, transcribed for flute by Marina Piccinini, is published by Schott Music, Edition no. ED30116 www.schott-music.com. Paganini in new hands Had it not been for Niccolò Paganini, the Romantic movement in music might have taken a very different course. In his virtuoso hands, music of unprecedented technical complexity was dispatched with a cool nonchalance that betrayed little of the effort behind its execution, while simple melodies were ruminated upon with the utmost profundity. People flocked in their thousands to see the Genoese wizard perform his miracles. Pale and gaunt, dressed in funereal garb, his long black hair cascading over a skeletal frame, he would float onto the stage like some ghastly apparition. This cadaverous persona was further enhanced by his mildly distorted facial features, the result of an operation that had left him without any teeth and his jaw misaligned. There were those who believed that Paganini possessed paranormal abilities – that he literally cast a hypnotic spell over those who came into contact with him. This led to the popular assumption that he must be in league with the Devil, an impression enhanced by his unearthly appearance. Paganini went to great lengths to keep the tricks of his particular trade a closely guarded secret. He never allowed his handwritten manuscripts out of his sight, and orchestral parts would only be given out briefly for rehearsals and performances and then collected in carefully afterwards for fear that someone might discover some clue as to his technical innovations. 4 Yet behind all the theatricals lay a deeply serious musician. His ghoulish façade of technical invulnerability obfuscated a rare creative gift for cantabile melody and probing the dark side of the human psyche. When preparing his unprecedented collection of 24 solo violin Capricci for publication in 1820, he headed the final manuscript ‘Alli Artisti’ (‘For all artists’), as if to emphasise that the interpretative challenges presented by his Opus 1 were as fundamental as their prestidigitation. It is hardly Paganini’s fault that subsequent editions of the Capricci found well-meaning editors attempting to tone down his more advanced harmonic explorations and smooth over the exquisite angularities of his melodic writing. Dated by some authorities as early as 1800, the latest research would seem to indicate 1815 as the most likely date of completion, although the full set was not finally published until 1820 as ‘Op.1.’ The Capricci are intimately associated with the violin, both as pedagogical material for the practice room and increasingly on disc as a recorded cycle. Less often remarked upon is the important role they have increasingly played in the training of virtuoso flautists ever since 1902, when Éditions Choudens of Paris published a transcription of the entire set for flute by Jules Herman, composer and professor of flute at the Brussels Conservatory. This was based on a spurious edition in which Paganini’s uncompromising originals had been musically ironed out. Yet if nothing else, it is a valuable historical document that demonstrates strikingly how the sensibilities of the Romantic era preferred a more conservative approach to phrasing and dynamics than Paganini’s post-Classical Urtext, which forms the basis of this recording. In transcribing the Capricci, Piccinini’s intention was to remain true to the music’s creative thrust yet in terms of the flute’s own special tonal proclivities and expressive range. Where Paganini originally indicated notes to be played as harmonics the timbral correspondences are naturally closest and in the case of No.9 the player is actually instructed to ‘sound like flute.’ The quick-fire semiquavers of No.5 are particularly well-suited to light double-tonguing, so here the special challenges for the flutist are rapid hand-to-mouth coordination and equalising the rate of depression and release of keys at high velocity. Elsewhere, Paganini’s specifically violinistic intentions have been subtly reappropriated, as in the very first Caprice in which the composer’s notorious passages of rising thirds are substituted by flute harmonics, while the ending is played sotto voce, which is more in keeping with the flute’s distinctive sonority. The innumerable passages of double-stopping that appear throughout the Capricci have been adapted in a number of different ways, according to context. Some are realised as broken chords, others as grace notes, while some have been omitted altogether where attempts at elaboration tended to obscure the natural shape of the melodic line. Where Paganini famously introduces exchanges of right- and left-hand pizzicato in No.24, staccato tonguing is used as another kind of special effect. Breathing naturally presents one of the greatest challenges in adapting these dazzlingly inventive pieces for the flute. One solution is to employ specialist techniques such as circular breathing, but Piccinini elected to adopt a more purist approach, as she found that normal breathing imparted a more natural feel to the phrasing and enhanced the special sense of where the music is heading. ‘Above all, I wanted to avoid viewing the Capricci as mere technical challenges,’ Piccinini explains, ‘but rather as inspired miniatures of extraordinary musical intensity. I was particularly struck by the expressive range of this music, particularly Paganini’s mystic, dark side and his haunting, introspective, tender vulnerability. Contrary to popular belief, this is the music of a man who clearly did not see himself as invulnerable.’ Ꭿ Julian Haylock, 2014 5 Einleitung Paganinis ungewöhnliche Widmung „Alli Artisti“ („An die Künstler“), welche die 24 Capricen einleitet, zeigt das Aufkommen des Künstlers als eigenständiges, bedeutsames Mitglied der Gesellschaft an. Paganinis Auffassung von der Rolle des Künstlers war eine sowohl idealistische als auch pragmatische; in seiner Vision verband sich künstlerische Integrität mit einem subtilen psychologischen Verständnis von den Bedürfnissen seiner Zuhörer, und in den Capricen zeigte er der Welt die Möglichkeit, große instrumentale Virtuosität als Werkzeug zur Erzeugung bedeutender künstlerischer Leistungen einzusetzen – ein Medium für Musiker, die bereit waren, tiefer in die Geheimnisse der Kunst einzutauchen. Der großartige Pianist Alfred Cortot sollte später über Paganinis Capricen wie auch über Liszts „transzendentale“ Etüden und die Etüden von Chopin sagen, sie seien „ebenso unzugänglich für einen Musiker ohne Virtuosität, wie für einen Virtuosen ohne Musikalität“. Seit ihrer Erstveröffentlichung 1820 haben die Capricen mit ihrer unangefochtenen Position im Violinrepertoire zu neuen, kreativen Entdeckungen angeregt, indem sie die Begrenzungen des Instrumentes zurückgedrängt haben, eine neue Dimension in der musikalischen Ausdrucksweise eröffnet haben und zur Ausarbeitung neuer pädagogischer Ansätze angeregt haben.

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