How Paganini Delights the Ear
He wasn’t the contrapuntalist that Bach was. His music lacked the formal cohesion and structure of Beethoven. His use of harmony wasn’t as developed as Liszt.
Yet when played with imagination and passion it entertains and delights the most discriminating listener.
What Paganini did possess was a terrific sense of gesture, of musical effect, of color, and of melody. Had he not pursued a career as a composer/virtuoso he could today just as easily be remembered as a composer of opera rivaling the likes of Rossini.
To see Paganini as only the creator of highly technical music is to miss the mark by almost 180 degrees. He was first and foremost an entertainer – therein lies his charm, appeal, AND, to a violinist, challenge.
If you want to hear a fine Paganini player – aside from yours truly, of course! – listen to Gideon Kramer play this music. It’s the same kind of imaginative playing that serves the music of Schubert and Mozart, I might add.
So when I am guiding you through the technical challenges in the instructional DVDs I am also trying to enliven your imagination and creative juices. In this way when it comes time to entertain an audience or a living room of friends they won’t let you put the violin down all night.
All the best,
Clayton Haslop
P.S. I had a terrific first day with ”Paganini for Violin Virtuosity, Vol. 1. For those of you still thinking about the investment in this course, bare in mind that each Caprice represents an investment of only $35.00. For the amount of detailed coaching you receive, 4 DVDs worth, this is a give-away.
Yet when played with imagination and passion it entertains and delights the most discriminating listener.
What Paganini did possess was a terrific sense of gesture, of musical effect, of color, and of melody. Had he not pursued a career as a composer/virtuoso he could today just as easily be remembered as a composer of opera rivaling the likes of Rossini.
To see Paganini as only the creator of highly technical music is to miss the mark by almost 180 degrees. He was first and foremost an entertainer – therein lies his charm, appeal, AND, to a violinist, challenge.
If you want to hear a fine Paganini player – aside from yours truly, of course! – listen to Gideon Kramer play this music. It’s the same kind of imaginative playing that serves the music of Schubert and Mozart, I might add.
So when I am guiding you through the technical challenges in the instructional DVDs I am also trying to enliven your imagination and creative juices. In this way when it comes time to entertain an audience or a living room of friends they won’t let you put the violin down all night.
All the best,
Clayton Haslop
P.S. I had a terrific first day with ”Paganini for Violin Virtuosity, Vol. 1. For those of you still thinking about the investment in this course, bare in mind that each Caprice represents an investment of only $35.00. For the amount of detailed coaching you receive, 4 DVDs worth, this is a give-away.
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