Le Charme de Padua, Divertimento pour Violon et Piano concertant,
composé par Nicolo Paganini. This piece was published in London before
the date of Paganini's first concert, and possibly before the arrival of
that artist in England. It was issued by a firm of repute, Wessel and
Stodar, who were the first publishers in England of the works of Chopin.
The music was reviewed in _The Harmonicon_, June 1831, the notice
concluding thus: "It perhaps is a bagatelle on which he (Paganini) has
bestowed little time and less thought. It certainly is a flimsy affair,
and might have been produced by the dullest and most mechanical
_repieno_ in the band of a suburb (_sic_) theatre." The piece consists
of a Larghetto and Presto, in C major, the slow introduction being in
six-eight rhythm, the Presto in six-four. There is one principal theme
in the first part, given out by the violin and repeated by the
pianoforte, a simple melody, with embellishments. The Presto is in Rondo
form, with leading theme for pianoforte, continued by violin, and
relieved by an episode contrasted in character. The music is not great,
but unprejudiced musicians will scarcely endorse the captious remarks of
the reviewer. The firm of Edwin Ashdown (successor to Wessel) publish
the composition, also a version by S. Godbé for viola and pianoforte. In
this the themes are written an octave lower, and modifications occur in
double-stops, and so forth, to suit the viola. There is likewise an
arrangement for flute and pianoforte, by J. Sedlazek. It is not stated
by whom the pianoforte part was written, but it is very well done, and
is not a mere accompaniment.
WORKS UNPUBLISHED, OR LOST.
Concerto in D minor. Fétis terms this a magnificent concerto; it was
performed by Paganini at the first concert he gave in Paris, March 25th,
1831, and that seems to be all that is known about the piece. Concerto
in E minor. This was in three movements; Allegro maestoso; Adagio
flebile, con sentimento; Rondo, Andantino Gàjo, "with a triangle
accompaniment." It was played by Paganini at the King's Theatre, June
13th, 1831. Concerto in E major. The three movements of this piece were;
Allegro Marziale; Cantabile Spianato; and Polacca brillante. Paganini
played this concerto at his concert, July 4th, 1831. Concerto in two
movements. This was a medley. The one movement, Cantabile a doppie
corde, was by Paganini; the other, Ronda scherzoso, by Rodolphe
Kreutzer. Played, August 17th, 1831.
Four Concertos, of which the instrumentation was not written. Of these
nothing seems now to be known. Fétis says that the last of the four was
composed at Nice a short time before the death of Paganini.
Concerto for bassoon, with string trio accompaniment. This was
discovered at Stockholm in 1890, and the manuscript was said to be in
the composer's hand-writing. The announcement of the discovery will be
found in _The Musical Times_, of November, 1890, page 681. I have found
no further reference to the subject.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account