Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 3 in E major

Virtuoso violinist Ingolf Turban has gained critical acclaim for his recordings of Paganini’s works gained, especially his March 2006 performance with the New York Philharmonic and his complete recording of the six violin concertos and in the TV documentary ‘Paganinis Geheimnis“

In his career he has produced over 30 albums, drawing on repertoire from a wide variety of sources. His much celebrated premiere performances have gained world wide acclaim and are now recognized as standard concert works.

The concertos here recorded - like those of the first volume of the series - are played on the famous Guarneri del Gesù that belonged to Paganini, currently kept in the Genoa City Hall. This 1742 instrument, which has an extraordinary sound, is very well preserved.

Once again Massimo Quarta, winner in 1991 of the Paganini Competition, has proven well up to the task, mastering a violin that is as beautiful as it is difficult to play and performing in the double capacity of soloist and conductor of the Genoese Teatro Carlo Felice Orchestra.

As for the Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 of Volume one, also for Nos. 3 and 5 new editions based on Paganini’s autographs were prepared. For Concerto No. 5, in particular, Dynamic commissioned from the musicologist and viola player Francesco Fiore a new orchestration, which would substitute that written by Federico Mompellio in 1959. Of this Concerto, in fact, only the part of the solo violin exists in Paganini’s own handwriting, with a guide to the orchestral tutti as well as some sporadic hints of accompaniment and indications of instrumentation. The orchestral score was probably never written by the Genoese composer.

Maestro Fiore set himself two goals: the first was to write a score philologically respectful of the Paganinian stereotypes; the second was to underline the fact that the style of the mature Paganini was very closely linked to that of the most important Italian operatic composers of the day (Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini). What has emerged is a newer and fresher Paganini, a Paganini of great effect.

This release is the FIRST COMPLETE EDITION of Paganini’s works for violin and orchestra and will undoubtedly be a welcome addition to the record collection of the many admirers of the great Genovese violinist.

The main performers are two of the finest interpreters of Paganini, Massimo Quarta and Salvatore Accardo, who are not only impeccable violinists from a technical point of view but also refined readers of Paganini’s music.

The Violin Concertos are a philological version, based on the original manuscripts, recorded for Dynamic after several years of research. Concerto No. 1 in particular is performed in its original tonality of E flat Major (rather than D Major), with the violin tuned half a tone higher. All six Concertos are performed on Paganini’s violin.

As a bonus, CD 8 contains two Concertos (nos. 1 & 4) performed by two of the greatest 20th-century interpreters of Paganini’s music: Yehudi Menuhin and Ruggiero Ricci.