Niccolò Paganini - Music for Violin & Guitar (Gil Shaham; Göran Söllscher)

Information

Composer: Niccolò Paganini

• (01-03) Sonata concertata in A major, MS 2
• (04-05) 6 Sonatas, MS 27 (Op. 3): No. 1 in A major
• (06-07) 6 Sonatas, MS 27 (Op. 3): No. 4 in A minor
• (08-09) 6 Sonatas, MS 27 (Op. 3): No. 6 in E minor
• (10) Grand Sonata in A major, MS 3
• (11-12) 18 Sonatas, MS 112 (Op. 64): No. 2 in D major
• (13-14) 18 Sonatas, MS 112 (Op. 64): No. 4 in A major
• (15) Cantabile in D major, MS 109 (Op. 17)
• (16-21) Sonata "a Preghiera" (Moses Fantasy) in F minor, MS 23 (transcr. Lars Hannibal)
• (22) Moto perpetuato (Allegro vivace a movimento perpetuo) in C major, MS 72 (Op. 11) (transcr. Lars Hannibal)

Gil Shaham, violin
Göran Söllscher, guitar

Date: 1993
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4378372

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Review

A glance in Grove will reveal, if you didn't know it already, that Paganini wrote a great deal of guitar music both with and without the violin, bringing together the two instruments he played so well. Paganini played these works with the guitarist/violinist Luigi Legnani who, it is said, finally protested that he always had the easy guitar parts, whilst Paganini enjoyed the violinistic limelight. However, when Paganini produced his Grand Sonata and gave the violin part to Legnani the roles were doubly reversed; the violin plays such a minor role that it is usually omitted from performances; I can recollect only one other (now deleted) recording in which it appears! As a violinist was to hand he plays his part here, from which you may judge what is (not) lost when it is omitted. The guitar parts in the Six Sonatas, Op. 3 are of student level—Segovia refused many invitations to play them—and could benefit from revision, as those in Opp. 11 and 17, adapted from the original piano parts, firmly suggest. The Sonata concertata finds the two instruments on a more even playing field, with the guitar often leading the way. This is not the music of Paganini wearing his devil's cloak but I would have liked a little more emotional fire and bite than is present in these polished and expressive performances. They are nevertheless clearly recorded, well annotated, and welcome.

-- John Duarte, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Paganini-Two-Shaham-Goran-Sollscher/dp/B000001GJB

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Niccolò Paganini (27 October 1782 – 27 May 1840) was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. Paganini composed his own works to play exclusively in his concerts, all of which profoundly influenced the evolution of violin technique. His 24 Caprices for Solo Violin Op.1 are among the best known of his compositions, and have served as an inspiration for many prominent composers, Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Sergei Rachmaninoff, among others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_Paganini

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Gil Shaham (born February 19, 1971 in Urbana, Illinois) is an American violinist of Jewish descent. He studied at  the Aspen Music School in Colorado with Dorothy DeLay and Jens Ellermann. His playing is marked by a warm, flowing tone allied with a strong and comprehensive technique. His seriousness as a musician has made him a favored partner for many of the world's leading conductors, and other instrumentalists have been eager to collaborate with him in chamber music performances. Shaham plays a Stradivarius violin from the "long pattern" period, the "Comtesse de Polignac" of 1699.
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/gil-shaham-mn0000687597/biography

http://gilshaham.com/

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Göran Söllscher (born 31 December 1955 in Växjö, Sweden) is a Swedish award-winning virtuoso classical guitarist known for his broad range of musical interpretations, ranging from Bach to the Beatles. Söllscher is also known for playing lute music by Baroque composers, such as Weiss and J.S. Bach, on a custom-made eleven-string alto guitar. Söllscher has regularly played with most Scandinavian orchestras, and has toured North America, Europe, Japan and China. As of 2005, Söllscher had released 19 records, which altogether have sold over a million copies. He is a professor of guitar at Lund University.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6ran_S%C3%B6llscher

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