Augustin Hadelich Archive

PAGANINI: 24 Caprices, Op. 1 – Augustin Hadelich, violin – Warner Classics 

by Audiophile Audition | Dec 29, 2017 | Classical CD Reviews

PAGANINI: 24 Caprices, Op. 1 – Augustin Hadelich, violin – Warner Classics 0190295728229, 81:07 (1/12/18) ****: Augustin Hadelich serves us a set of the complete Paganini Caprices in rousing, masterly fashion. Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year and the Warner Classics Award Winner 2015, Augustin Hadelich (b. 1984) performs one of the several “Everests” of the solo violin, the 1820 Paganini Caprices (rec. March 2016 – July 2017) from WGBH, Boston.  Hadelich plays the 1823 Ex-Kiesewetter Stradivarius, an instrument thoroughly contemporaneous with the composer. Its resonant, piercing tone has been captured with stunning presence by Producer and Editor Antonio Oliart. Speculation has it that Nicolo Paganini (b. 1782) began composing his set of 24 Caprices around 1805, completing the set in 1820 for publication, one of only five opera he released for public consumption, if only to convince the world that he alone could perform his music. Beyond the sheer volume of technical effects Paganini achieves within his arsenal—double-stops, agonizing speed, harmonics, ricochet effects, pizzicato in both hands, staccato runs, up-bow staccato, cross-string arpeggios and scales—the man himself courted intriguing theatrical effects that became legend throughout Europe. German poet Heinrich Heine in one account described Paganini as “looking as if […]