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Variations on 'The Carnival of Venice' |
Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Franco Tamponi
EMI Classics Digital Twins CZS7 67567-2
2 discs [46:43 + 58:32] budget-price
WARNING: No notes!!
by Ong Yong Hui
This CD continues Salvatore Accardo's foray into the Paganini repertoire, playing obscure works Paganini wrote for the solo violin with orchestral accompaniment. I do not have much knowledge regarding the origin of these pieces myself, and the complete lack of notes within the CD does nothing to help that.
Paganini excelled in the art of composing difficult variations to a simplistic theme to show off his talents. In the Variations on 'The Carnival of Venice', the initial theme is given twelve minutes of extraodinary treatment for the performer to pull off unusual feats from his
violin. There are whole variations of just pizzicato phrases, the alternation of plucked and
bowed notes (which Louis Sphor so frowned upon), legato doublestops or any number of techniques
combined to make up one variation. The orchestral accompaniment is effective and deliberately
remains in the background for the violin to take centerstage at all times.
The Balletto Cāmpestre Variations starts off with a grand theme that sounds like music straight out of Paganini's concertos. Suddenly the theme collapses and lapses into a whimsical tune that is subjected to the variations treatment lasting an astonishing 27 minutes! As with the "Carnival of Venice", there is no musical development in the piece, but it is fascinating to hear Paganini twist the theme in ingenious ways and exploit every technical trick the violin is capable of at the same time. In the 27 variations you will find the most amazing display of flying staccatos and doublestops. I doubt I can find any other music which shows off the violin's capabilities more. Truly a jaw-dropping experience everytime I listen to them, and they are quite 'entertaining' at the same time too.
It is not all flying staccatos and ricochets for Paganini. The strings enter with a soft and sensuous trill in the Larghetto con passione, and the violin then leads the
orchestra in a beautiful and mysterious development, backed by a pizzicato accompaniment. The music proceeds silently, despite occasional dramatic punctuations which are immediately stifled, and concludes with trills the way it started; An enchanting fantasia that needs no fireworks, only
a beautiful tone from the performer to carry it off.
The romance Andante Amoroso is a straightforward piece of melody much like Beethoven's own Romances, and the only technical
difficulty in the piece would be the doublestop harmonics melody at the end.
The rest of the set comprise sonatas for the violin with orchestral accompaniment, including the Sonata per la Gran Viola and Sonata Maria Luisa Sul Sol. (Note: The word "sonata" is used very loosely by Paganini here; these pieces might be more appropriately named "Introduction and Rondo" or something to that effect, and are generally more structured in form then his variational works). Actually every piece of music except the Larghetto con passione is a set of variations, but the Sonata for Gran Viola is quite credible as a sonata really, maybe less so for the Maria Luisa Sonata. I consider the 'Moses' Variations a sonata too, for it is quite musically well-defined. One of my favourite pieces in this set, it is wholly played on the G-string tuned up a minor third (scordatura), and is very impressive because of that reason. The bold and full-bodied sound quality distinctive of that string also adds to the expressivity of the music.
Salvatore Accardo (right) has phenomenal technique to be able to produce this recording.
Everything is made to sound effortless, not a sign of inconsistency in the performance, nothing
sounding strained from the horrifying demands of the music. An almost flawless performance, and
to add to that, he gives a noble tone to the lyrical moments too. Simply stunning in short, and
I bet the orchestra enjoyed seeing Accardo playing them enormously, in compensation for their
boredom in accompanying him! Get it if you love Paganini, or if you love to see the violin in spectacular
action and throwing fireworks all around.
This composition is essentially a haphazard collection of variations one after another, and it is one surprise after another trying to anticipate the next trick. Sonata Varsavia derives its theme from Paganini's Fifth Concerto, and it is given the same treatment as with the "Carnival of Venice" theme. It can be considered as a better musical composition though, as the obsession with the manipulation of the theme is less obvious; the presence of a proper introduction and a cadenza that closes the piece also makes it more complete in a sense.
Last but not least, there is the Moto Perpetuo, a piece choked with fast semiquavers throughout for the violin and famous for the scintillating bowing required in playing it.
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253: 26.7.1998 ŠOng Yong Hui
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