Paganini: Music for Violin & Strings Gabriele Pieranunzi

• Nicolò Paganini (1782 - 1840: Violin Concerto No. 2, MS 48:
• 1 Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 2, MS 48: III. Rondò 'la campanella' 06:45
• Sonata 'a preghiera', MS 23 (Moses Fantasy):
• 2 Paganini: Sonata 'a preghiera', MS 23 (Moses Fantasy) 09:33
• Cantabile, MS 109:
• 3 Paganini: Cantabile, MS 109 05:26
• Le streghe, MS 19 (Witches' Dance):
• 4 Paganini: Le streghe, MS 19 (Witches' Dance) 12:17
• Sonata No. 6 in E Minor, MS 27/6:
• 5 Paganini: Sonata No. 6 in E Minor, MS 27/6: I. Andante innocentemente 03:39
• 6 Paganini: Sonata No. 6 in E Minor, MS 27/6: II. Allegro vivo e con spirito, minore 01:34
• Sonata No. 3 in D Major, MS 27/3:
• 7 Paganini: Sonata No. 3 in D Major, MS 27/3: I. Andante sostenuto - II. Rondo. Molto allegro 04:47
• Duetto concertante No. 1 in E-Flat Major, MS 107/1:
• 8 Paganini: Duetto concertante No. 1 in E-Flat Major, MS 107/1: I. Allegro 06:26
• 9 Paganini: Duetto concertante No. 1 in E-Flat Major, MS 107/1: I. Rondò. Allegretto 04:29
• Duetto concertante No. 2 in G Major, MS 107/2:
• 10 Paganini: Duetto concertante No. 2 in G Major, MS 107/2: I. Allegro 08:08
• 11 Paganini: Duetto concertante No. 2 in G Major, MS 107/2: II. Rondò 02:55
• Duetto concertante No. 3 in A Major, MS 107/3:
• 12 Paganini: Duetto concertante No. 3 in A Major, MS 107/3: I. Allegro 07:01
• 13 Paganini: Duetto concertante No. 3 in A Major, MS 107/3: II. Polonese. Andante con brio 02:54
• Total Runtime 01:15:54

Info for Paganini: Music for Violin & Strings

Paganini war der erste große "Star" der Instrumentalmusik, der Vorläufer der heutigen Rockstars, der in der Lage war, eine kollektive Hysterie auszulösen, die Mode zu bestimmen und das Verhalten ganzer Generationen zu beeinflussen. Dies gelang ihm, indem er die Violine in ein vielstimmiges und klanglich experimentierfreudiges Orchester verwandelte, mit anderen Worten, indem er die Grenzen dessen, was ein einzelnes Instrument leisten kann, auslotete.

Dieses Programm ist besonders interessant, sowohl wegen der Qualität der Aufführungen als auch wegen der neuen, von Francesco Fiore und Salvatore Lombardo geschaffenen Versionen für Kammersaiten. Es stellt auch äußerst populäre Paganini-Werke neben Kompositionen, die nicht so oft im Konzertsaal zu hören sind, die aber dazu beitragen, das Verständnis für die Kunstfertigkeit eines Komponisten zu vertiefen, der allzu oft als bloßer Geigenakrobat verkannt wird.

In vier von Paganinis bekanntesten Kompositionen - dem Campanella"-Satz aus dem Violinkonzert Nr. 2, der Moses-Fantasie, dem Hexentanz und dem Cantabile - wird die Solovioline von einem Streichquintett begleitet.

In den ersten drei Sätzen tritt das Streichquintett an die Stelle des Orchesters, was zu einer Auflockerung der Begleitung führt. Im Cantabile, das im Original für Violine und Klavier geschrieben wurde (Paganinis einziges Stück, das nicht von der Gitarre, sondern von der Tastatur begleitet wird), gelingt es der "schwereren" Quintettbegleitung, einen diskreten Sinn für angenehme Raffinesse zu bewahren. Die nächsten beiden Werke, Nr. 6 und 3 der 6 Sonaten op. 3 für Violine und Gitarre, werden hier in Transkriptionen für zwei oder drei Violinen präsentiert. Diese beiden Sonaten, die im für die damalige Zeit typischen Salonstil geschrieben sind, erfreuen den Hörer durch den konversationellen Charakter des Violinspiels.

Schließlich folgen drei Kompositionen in ihren Originalfassungen, die einen Ausflug in einen weniger bekannten, aber dennoch sehr interessanten Bereich von Paganinis kammermusikalischem Schaffen bieten. Die drei Duetti concertanti für Violine und Violoncello wurden zum Vergnügen von Amateurspielern geschrieben und umfassen jeweils zwei Sätze.

Gabriele Pieranunzi, Violine solo
Salvatore Lombardo, Violine
Loana Stratulat, Violine
Luca Improta, Bratsche
Pierluigi Sanarica, Violoncello
Allessandro Mariani, Kontrabass

Gabriele Pieranunzi
For the precocious talent and the uncommon natural skills, Gabriele Pieranunzi has imposed soon at the attention of the public and musical critics as one of the most important italian violinist of his generation.

Between the numerous statements in international competition which caracterised he’s entrance on the musical stage stands out the two awards at “N.Paganini” of Genua (1988, 1990), together with other important awards at very prestigious international competitions: “Tibor Varga” (Sion), “L.Spohr” (Fribourg), “R.Romanini” (Brescia), “G.B.Viotti” (Vercelli), “R.Lipizer” (Gorizia) and “Biennale of Vittorio Veneto”.

Graduating at 16 guided by Arrigo Pelliccia, he was later improved his studies with F.Gulli and St.Gheorghiu.

During his brilliant career as soloist, he performed with great conductors like Aldo Ceccato, Alun Francis, Lu Jia, Jeffrey Tate, Piero Bellugi, Matthias Bamert, U.Benedetti Michelangeli, Anton Nanut, Julian Kovatchev, Nicolas Cleobury, Gianandrea Noseda and collaborated, on the chamber music’s field with Boris Belkin, Bruno Canino, Alfons Kontarsky, Rocco Filippini, Franco Petracchi, Nelson Goerner, Alain Meunier, Laura De Fusco, Rainer Kussmaul, Alexander Ivashkyn.

Invited many times by the Municipality of Genua to play on the famous Guarneri del Gesù “Il Cannone” – violin belonged to N.Paganini, he is regular guest of the most important italian musical istitutions like Accademia Nazionale of S.Cecilia of Rome, Accademia Chigiana of Siena, Teatro Regio of Turin, Teatro Carlo Felice of Genova, Orchestra Sinfonica “G.Verdi” of Milan, Teatro Comunale of Bologna, Teatro S.Carlo of Naples (where performed, under the musical conduction of J.Tate, K.Weill’s Concerto for violin and winds and Tzigane by Ravel), Festival dei Due Mondi of Spoleto, Settimane Internazionali di Musica da Camera at Villa Pignatelli of Naples and Settimane Musicali of Stresa, where executed the complete Sonatas for piano and violin by Beethoven. He is also a regular guest of various important musical istitutions around the world: Herculeesaal of Monaco di Baviera, Baden Baden Philharmonie, Rtsi of Lugano, Festival Bemus of Belgrado, Filarmonica G.Enescu of Bucarest, Wigmore Hall of London (Canino and Friends), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Paganini Concerto no. 2 “The bell”, dir. G.Noseda), Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (Paganini Concerto no. 1), Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra of Budapest, Malmoe Symphony Orchestra (Beethoven Concerto for violin, dir. G.Noseda), Opera City Hall of Tokyo.

In 2002, he was the protagonist of a tour in South America, wich culminated with the concert at “Teatro Coliseum” in Buenos Aires.

From 2004, after the assignment given to well-known, is the first violin of the orchestra of the Theatre of S.Carlo of Naples.

Very refined in the interpretation of the chamber music repertory, G.Pieranunzi has released the following CD:

The Quartets for piano and stringsby Fauré, with Maurizio Baglini (piano), attached to the “Amadeus” Italian music magazine, February 2006;
The Quintets for clarinet and stringsby Mozart and Brahms, with A.Carbonare (clarinet), attached to the “Amadeus” Magazine, April 2007;
The first volume of the Quartets for piano and stringsby Mendelssohn, with Roberto Prosseda (Decca-Universal), December 2012.
Recently he recorded for “Concerto Classics” label a CD with K.Weill’s Concerto for violin and winds, together with the S.Carlo Theatre of Naples orchestra, conducted by Jeffrey Tate, L’Histoire du Soldat by Stravinsky and Suite Concertante by Milhaud, for violin, clarinet and piano, with A. Carbonare (clarinet) and E. Pieranunzi (piano).

The Birmingham post wrote: “Gabriele Pieranunzi, the sweetest – toned violinist you could imagine…a rewarding and immaculately contoured reading nonetheless”.

The Skanska Dagbladet wrote: “Was many years that the audience in Malmoe didn’t listen a so perfect performance”.

Booklet for Paganini: Music for Violin & Strings