24 CAPRICES - Paganini
" Five BRILLIANT Stars! Awesome performances by the award-winning German violin and piano virtuoso Julia Fischer, focused exclusively on Niccolò Paganini's famous 24 Caprices for Violin, Opus 1. Paganini's caprices are known for being among the most technically difficult, treacherous, and at the same time some of the most beautiful violin pieces ever composed, clearly evoking the Romantic period with deep emotionalism, at times amid some of the most searing showers of notes .........."
Reviews
" Five BRILLIANT Stars! Awesome performances by the award-winning German violin and piano virtuoso Julia Fischer, focused exclusively on Niccolò Paganini's famous 24 Caprices for Violin, Opus 1. Paganini's caprices are known for being among the most technically difficult, treacherous, and at the same time some of the most beautiful violin pieces ever composed, clearly evoking the Romantic period with deep emotionalism, at times amid some of the most searing showers of notes imaginable. One of the foremost violinists of his time, these compositions are like 'time capsules', reflecting the incredible 'state of Paganini's violin artistry'- extraordinary virtuosity, demonstrated all over Europe, solidifying his reputation as a great composer and musician. Julia was 8 when she sat fascinated while a violinist played all 24 Caprices, as she followed along with the sheet music, and became intent on performing them one day. This CD was recorded in her hometown of Munich at the August Everding Hall with excellent sound and presence. While some may think of these as akin to practice pieces and individual show-stopping virtuosic pieces for an artist's encore performance, she sees them as a valid body of compositional work flowing from one piece to another and reflecting unique moods and specific violin skills in each "miniature", some so technical that they seem to be nearing the edge of rapid fingering and bowing possibility, as he probably intended. The joyous Caprice No. 1 in E sets the stage for what follows with its marvelous kinetic bowed fireworks and over-the-top demands, played with fire, grace, and dexterity by Ms Fischer. Other most notable caprices include Caprice No. 3 in E Minor and No. 4 in C Minor which Fischer gives moments of great ethereal multi-stopped beauty in response to different technical demands of the piece. Caprice No. 6 in G Minor ("the Trill Caprice") is stunning in composition and execution by Fischer who daringly uses a mute, creating an otherworldly sound at times like an accordion, a horn, and a flute. Caprice No. 9 in E ("the Hunt") is played very stately and deliberate, while Caprice No. 11 in C is full of aching beauty, giving way to a spritely dance in the middle. Caprice No. 18 in C is very sensitive with bird song-like elements before the swiftly-played section takes over. The 'pièce de résistance' is the famous Caprice No 24 in A Minor: 4 minutes and 22 seconds of heightened musical drama, with Fischer brilliantly stating the themes and eleven challenging variations, including the very buoyant pizzicato section which she plays with left-hand fingers and right index finger. This superb and unique CD is a great addition to the Julia Fischer discography. Bravo, Ms Fischer. My Highest Recommendation. Five DAZZLING Stars! (This review is based on an iTunes download: 24 tracks: 76:41 total time, with digital booklet. Julia Fischer plays a 1742 Guadagnini violin.)
By RBSProds "rbsprods" (Deep in the heart of Texas)
BIOGRAPHY
G erman violinist Julia Fischer is recognized worldwide for possessing a talent of uncommon ability and as an exceptionally gifted artist, reflected in the numerous awards and effusive reviews she has received for both her live performances and recordings, including being named “Artist of the Year” at The Gramophone Awards in 2007 and “Instrumentalist of the Year” at the 2009 MIDEM Classical Awards.
Frequently praised for her technical mastery, Ms. Fischer is also lauded for her imaginative and illuminating interpretations of the classical repertoire, with the Financial Times saying: “She may have spitfire technique… but in Fischer’s case the notes are not an end in themselves but purely a means to expressing musical truths.”
In September 2010 Decca will release Ms. Fischer’s recording of Paganini’s 24 Caprices, a showcase of both her virtuosity and also her passion for the composer’s work and her belief that the caprices are not mere display pieces, but intriguing and meaningful musical works. Ms. Fischer, who learnt her first Paganini caprice when she was ten-years-old, recorded the caprices at Munich’s August Everding Hall.
The Paganini recording follows her 2009 best-selling debut recording for Decca of Bach violin concertos with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Upon its U.S. release the recording became the fastest-selling classical music debut in iTunes history. Ms. Fischer subsequently toured 11 European cities and 10 U.S. cities as director and soloist with the Academy and she will tour with the ensemble again in March 2011 to four Swiss cities.
Other European tours Ms. Fischer will undertake during the 2010-11 season include: recitals in Germany and Prague with pianist Milana Chernyavska; a four-city tour of Germany and France with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski performing Beethoven and Schostakowitsch; recitals of Schumann sonatas with pianist Martin Helmchen in London (Southbank Centre), Germany and Spain; performances of the Brahms Double Concerto with cellist Daniel Müller-Schott and the Ungarische Nationalphilharmonie and Zoltan Kocsis in Germany, and with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo and Yakov Kreizberg in Monte Carlo and Spain. Following concerts at the 2011 Salzburg Easter Festival with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle in April 2011, Ms. Fischer will perform three concerts with the Cleveland Orchestra and Franz Welser-Möst in May 2011 performing the Berg Violin Concerto. Previous recordings were released on the PentaTone label. Her debut CD, a recording of Russian Violin Concertos by Khatchaturian, Prokofiev and Glazunov with the Russian National Orchestra under Yakov Kreizberg, won Germany’s coveted ECHO Award in 2005. Ms. Fischer recorded Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin in 2005 and this recording earned worldwide critical praise including the rare distinction of winning three of France’s most prestigious awards: the Diapason d’Or from Diapason; the CHOC from Le Monde de la Musique; and the highest rating from Classica Repertoire. The Bach recording also saw her awarded the BBC Music Magazine Award as “Best Newcomer” in 2006. In 2007, her Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto recording saw her awarded the ECHO award for “Instrumentalist of the Year”.
Born in Munich in 1983 to a pianist mother from Slovakia and a mathematician father from Eastern Germany, Ms. Fischer began learning the piano with her mother at age three, but was soon persuaded to take up the violin as well because, as her brother also played piano, her mother thought it would be nice to have another instrument in the family. She began violin lessons at the Leopold Mozart Conservatoire in Augsburg, and three years later, she became a pupil of Ana Chumachenco at the Munich Academy of Music (Musikhochschule). At just 11-years-old, she won the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition, an event that catapulted her towards a career as a soloist. Throughout her career, Ms. Fischer has always maintained her piano studies. On January 1st, 2008 she made her professional piano debut at the Alte Oper Frankfurt performing the Grieg Piano Concerto with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie and conductor Matthias Pintscher. On the same program, she performed the Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No. 3. A DVD of this concert, recorded by Unitel Classica, was released by Decca in September 2010.
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