Paganini for the Cello

Nicolò Paganini (1782-1840) was probably the first Rock Star in classical music. The mania around the virtuoso showman’s performances rivaled that seen in today’s Pop & Rock world. His virtuosic performances, often described as “demonic,” were filled with technical feats such as dazzling double stops, pizzicati, harmonics and whirlwind speed, all far beyond the limits of what anyone thought possible by a violinist. His persona and theatrics both on and off stage mesmerized Europe. He was rumored to be a murderer, seducer, and an escaped convict. His appearance - tall, emaciated, dressed in black, with shoulder length hair, according to the great German poet Heinrich Heine, was that of someone “who had risen from the underworld.”  Many actually believed that the only explanation for his seemingly superhuman playing abilities was that he had made a deal with the devil. Paganini denied any diabolical influence, producing a letter submitted by his mother stating that his parentage and birth were normal. But this only served to inflame public imagination further.

Paganini’s legendary technical prowess is illustrated by the story of how he acquired his violin. As the story goes, Paganini won a Guarnerius violin by wagering that he could play on sight a piece so difficult that other violinists couldn’t play it even after studying it. So staggering were Paganini’s skills that Robert Schumann called him the “turning point in the history of virtuosity.”  The great Franz Liszt aspired to be the “Paganini of the piano.” 

Paganini carefully guarded his many technical secrets, probably in efforts to maintain his spot at the top of the virtuoso food chain. When he rehearsed with an orchestra, he supplied their parts but he only gave cues around his entrances, reserving playing his solo part for the actual performance.

Probably the most astonishing of his compositions are his 24 Caprices for Violin, Op. 1 which even today remain at the outer limits of violin technique. The Caprices, written in three groups (6, 6, and 12), were published in 1820 but he is thought to have begun composing them as early as 1804. They were the only violin compositions published during his lifetime and it is suspected that the only reason he agreed to release them was to prove that no one else could play them. 

The Caprices are in the form of quasi etudes, each exploring different innovative techniques, including running octaves, thirds, sixths, string crossings, extremely fast tempi, left hand pizzicato, trills, and others.

Seven of Paganini’s Caprices  are presented here in transcription for cello. You can experience them two different ways:

1. Audio only - via the embedded SoundCloud section (immediately below)

2. Video - audio along with the scrolling manuscript in Paganini’s hand (in the clickable titles of each Caprice in the section“Selected Caprices, Op. 1” )