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Avie Records

Bel Canto Paganini / Rachel Barton Pine

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Details

Composer
PAGANINI, NICOLO
Artist
Rachel Barton Pine
Format
CD
Label
Avie Records
Released
May 19, 2017
Catalog #
AV2374
UPC
822252237429

About

The title of this double album, Bel Canto Paganini, is the key to Rachel Barton Pine’s unaccompanied violin artistry. Of course one cannot play unaccompanied Paganini without all-encompassing virtuoso equipment, and Pine’s technique is beyond cavil; just sample her deft and supple alternating pizzicato and arco articulation in the “Nel cor più non mi sento” Variations, or her extraordinary textural juggling in Duo merveille (“Duet for One”). However, throughout the Op. 1 Caprices, Pine clearly mines these showpieces for musical values, first and foremost.

For example, she observes all of the repeats. That might prove deadly in the lengthy No. 4 C minor Maestoso caprice or the No. 6 G minor trill study, yet Pine’s wide expressive and coloristic palette keeps the music alive and meaningful. What is more, she does this without resorting to exaggerated phrasings or dynamic swells.

Her slow and serious No. 13 bypasses the surface humor of the descending “laughing” chromatic thirds while emphasizing the composer’s dolce marking in figurative red ink. The fanfare-like gestures that open the E-flat Caprices Nos. 19 and 23 become provocatively wistful themes, while No. 18’s arpeggiated C major proclamations become softer, more questioning than usual, followed by descending scales that sound more like music than exercises. However, don’t expect scintillation and surface bravura, which James Ehnes serves up in tandem with sound musical values.

Interestingly, Pine lets loose and catches fire in her own Paganini-inspired Variations on “God Defend New Zealand”, proving that she could very well match Perlman, Rabin, Ricci, and Midori at their ebullient peaks. Whether or not Pine’s Paganini will suit all tastes, she unquestionably commands the ways and means to make the best possible case for her conceptions.

– ClassicsToday (Jed Distler)

Pine is principally interested in the musical qualities of these extraordinary, endlessly inventive miniatures, and there’s hardly a moment here where you get any sense of technique taking precedence over expression.

She finds a wonderfully rich range of colors. Double-stopped octaves can almost vanish into the melody (as in No 7), give a fanfare figure a heroic echo (Nos 19 and 23) or throw an eerie shadow like some operatic mad scene (No 15)—as the music demands. Her characterisation is beguiling: Pine lets minor-key melodies droop to a finish, plays teasingly with the rhythmic sideslips of No 13 and makes the famous left-hand pizzicato in No 24 burst like popping candy.

– Gramophone

Tracklist 28 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 Introduction and Variations on Nel cor più non mi sento from Paisiello's La molinara, Op. 38, MS 44 12:57
    Track
    1
    Title
    Introduction and Variations on Nel cor più non mi sento from Paisiello's La molinara, Op. 38, MS 44
    Duration
    12:57
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  3. 2 No. 1 in E Major: Andante 01:52
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 1 in E Major: Andante
    Duration
    01:52
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  4. 3 No. 2 in B Minor: Moderato 04:14
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 2 in B Minor: Moderato
    Duration
    04:14
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  5. 4 No. 3 in E Minor: Sostenuto - Presto - Sostenuto 03:19
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 3 in E Minor: Sostenuto - Presto - Sostenuto
    Duration
    03:19
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  6. 5 No. 4 in C Minor: Maestoso 10:43
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 4 in C Minor: Maestoso
    Duration
    10:43
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  7. 6 No. 5 in A Minor: Prelude - Agitato - Finale 03:02
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 5 in A Minor: Prelude - Agitato - Finale
    Duration
    03:02
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  8. 7 No. 6 in G Minor: Lento 08:07
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 6 in G Minor: Lento
    Duration
    08:07
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  9. 8 No. 7 in A Minor: Posato 07:54
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 7 in A Minor: Posato
    Duration
    07:54
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  10. 9 No. 8 in E-Flat Major: Maestoso 05:43
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 8 in E-Flat Major: Maestoso
    Duration
    05:43
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  11. 10 No. 9 in E Major: Allegretto 03:13
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 9 in E Major: Allegretto
    Duration
    03:13
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  12. 11 No. 10 in G Minor: Vivace 02:56
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 10 in G Minor: Vivace
    Duration
    02:56
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  13. 12 No. 11 in C Major: Andante - Presto - Primo tempo 04:27
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 11 in C Major: Andante - Presto - Primo tempo
    Duration
    04:27
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  14. 13 No. 12 in A-Flat Major: Allegro 04:55
    Track
    13
    Title
    No. 12 in A-Flat Major: Allegro
    Duration
    04:55
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  15. Disc 2
  16. 1 No. 13 in B-Flat Major: Allegro - Minore - Allegro 02:44
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 13 in B-Flat Major: Allegro - Minore - Allegro
    Duration
    02:44
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  17. 2 No. 14 in E-Flat Major: Moderato 02:04
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 14 in E-Flat Major: Moderato
    Duration
    02:04
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  18. 3 No. 15 in E Minor: Posato 02:58
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 15 in E Minor: Posato
    Duration
    02:58
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  19. 4 No. 16 in G Minor: Presto 01:28
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 16 in G Minor: Presto
    Duration
    01:28
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  20. 5 No. 17 in E-Flat Major: Sostenuto - Andante 03:47
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 17 in E-Flat Major: Sostenuto - Andante
    Duration
    03:47
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  21. 6 No. 18 in C Major: Corrente - Allegro - Corrente 02:31
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 18 in C Major: Corrente - Allegro - Corrente
    Duration
    02:31
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  22. 7 No. 19 in E-Flat Major: Lento - Allegro assai 03:10
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 19 in E-Flat Major: Lento - Allegro assai
    Duration
    03:10
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  23. 8 No. 20 in D Major: Allegretto - Minore - Allegretto 03:09
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 20 in D Major: Allegretto - Minore - Allegretto
    Duration
    03:09
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  24. 9 No. 21 in A Major: Amoroso - Presto 03:27
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 21 in A Major: Amoroso - Presto
    Duration
    03:27
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  25. 10 No. 22 in F Major: Marcato 03:03
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 22 in F Major: Marcato
    Duration
    03:03
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  26. 11 No. 23 in E-Flat Major: Posato 05:44
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 23 in E-Flat Major: Posato
    Duration
    05:44
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  27. 12 No. 24 in A Minor: Tema quasi presto 04:25
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 24 in A Minor: Tema quasi presto
    Duration
    04:25
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  28. 13 Violin Sonata in C Major, "Duo merveille", MS 6 02:45
    Track
    13
    Title
    Violin Sonata in C Major, "Duo merveille", MS 6
    Duration
    02:45
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  29. 14 Caprice d'adieux, MS 68 03:08
    Track
    14
    Title
    Caprice d'adieux, MS 68
    Duration
    03:08
    Composer
    Niccolò Paganini
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine
  30. 15 Introduction, Theme and Variations on God Defend New Zealand 04:43
    Track
    15
    Title
    Introduction, Theme and Variations on God Defend New Zealand
    Duration
    04:43
    Composer
    Rachel Barton Pine
    Performer
    Rachel Barton Pine