Igor Ruhadze - Locatelli Capricci for Solo Violin (2016)

Tracklist

01. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: I. Capriccio No. 1 in D Major
02. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: II. Capriccio No. 2 in D Major
03. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: III. Capriccio No. 3 in C Minor
04. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: IV. Capriccio No. 4 in C Minor
05. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: V. Capriccio No. 5 in F Major
06. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: VI. Capriccio No. 6 in F Major
07. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: VII. Capriccio No. 7 in E Major
08. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: VIII. Capriccio No. 8 in E Major
09. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: IX. Capriccio No. 9 in C Major
10. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: X. Capriccio No. 10 in C Major
11. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: XI. Capriccio No. 11 in G Minor
12. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: XII. Capriccio No. 12 in G Minor
13. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: XIII. Capriccio No. 13 in B-Flat Major
14. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: XIV. Capriccio No. 14 in B-Flat Major
15. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: XV. Capriccio No. 15 in E Minor
16. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: XVI. Capriccio No. 16 in E Minor
17. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: XVII. Capriccio No. 17 in G Major
18. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: XVIII. Capriccio No. 18 in G Major
19. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: XIX. Capriccio No. 19 in F Major
20. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: XX. Capriccio No. 20 in F Major
21. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: XXI. Capriccio No. 21 in A Major
22. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: XXII. Capriccio No. 22 in A Major
23. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: XXIII. Capriccio No. 23 in D Major "Il labirinto armonico"
24. 24 Capriccios for Solo Violin: XXIV. Capriccio No. 24 in D Major "Il labirinto armonico"
25. Capriccio from Concerto in A Major
26. Sonata in D Minor, Op. 6 No. 12: Capriccio "Prova dell'intonazione"


The virtuosic, gloriously indulgent music of Pietro Antonio Locatelli has long been passed over in favour of later composers, such as the master of flamboyant showiness Niccolò Paganini (whose 24 Caprices were inspired by these works). Eighty years before Paganini, however, came these capricci (or capriccios), long soloistic passages for solo violin that were originally written as cadences within movements of violin concertos. But Locatelli’s knack for this style proved so popular that the works easily stand alone; indeed, some of the capriccios are so long that they actually exceed the length of the movement they originate from! Locatelli would write out the beginning of the capriccio, leaving the player to improvise the final cadenza, and Igor Ruhadze has followed that pattern here, improvising cadences to bridge between all 24 capriccios and as the final tuttis of the concerto movements to which they belong. Even Locatelli’s notated section still leaves plenty of room for interpretation; he would simply write the notes in a block chord, leaving the player to pick this apart in whatever style he wished. The writing is rapid, technically demanding and stratospherically high, making huge demands on the performer and providing a treat for the listener in search of a compelling alternative to Paganini.

Igor Ruhadze is a highly experienced performer of Locatelli’s works. In 2015 Brilliant Classics released a 21CD set of the composer’s ensemble music, featuring Mr. Ruhadze and his aptly-named ensemble Violini Capricciosi. A separately-released volume from the Edition, that of the Trio Sonatas, received a very favourable review from Gramophone magazine, which described the ensemble as ‘fine advocates’ of Locatelli’s music, and praised the ‘brilliantly and at times breathtakingly performed’ works.

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