Paganini is said to have repudiated this work, although according to
Fétis, the quartets were published at Genoa under his very eyes. I
should rather say that the Milan edition was the first, and perhaps the
only one. Paganini's assertion was that some one had taken a few of his
themes, and badly arranged them. Fétis further states that various
pieces published before, and up to, 1851, must be considered as
"commercial frauds." Some of them are named, and will be referred to in
due course. The music of Op. 5 cannot be regarded as in any way great,
but there are graceful melodies, and the movements in Canon form are
ingeniously worked out.
Op. 6, _Premier Concerto (Mi Bémol), pour le violin avec accomp. de
l'orchestrè._ This was the first of the posthumous works, published
by the firm of Schott and Co., Paris, in 1851. It is scored for
two flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoon, double bassoon, two horns,
trumpets, three trombones, kettle drums, bass drum, cymbals, and the
usual quintet of strings. The solo violin is tuned a semitone higher,
and the part is in D, while the orchestra plays in E flat. Breitkopf
and Härtel publish the orchestral parts in the key of D. There is an
arrangement of the first movement, by August Wilhelmj, but with that I
have nothing to do here. First movement, Allegro maestoso, E flat,
four-four. The orchestral exordium extends to ninety-four bars,
six more than in the introduction of Beethoven's Concerto. The
movement--so it may be termed--is symphonic in form, with second
subject in the dominant, and it is richly scored. The exception I take
to it is the persistent employment of the cymbals with the bass drum.
There is a delightful little touch in the canonic imitation for
first violins and violoncellos. The solo has a principal theme scarcely
indicated in the introduction, and also several important episodes.
The slow movement, Adagio, C minor, four-four, was inspired, as already
mentioned, by the Italian tragedian, Demarini. Paganini witnessed
his performance in a prison scene, where, after recapitulating his
misfortunes, he supplicated Providence to relieve him of the burden of
his life. Paganini retired to rest still under the influence of the
emotions excited by the actor. He could not sleep: he rose and sought
through his violin a means of expression by which he could pour out the
feelings that consumed his soul. Thus, genius tortures and produces. It
must have been this movement in which William Gardiner heard "tones
more than human, which seemed to be wrung from the deepest anguish of a
broken heart." Observe, especially, the recitative passages that close
the movement. Finale, Rondo, Allegro spiritoso, E flat, two-four. This
is the longest concerto movement known to me, running on to four hundred
and eighty-three bars, but the "measure" is short. The concerto is not
so long as that of Beethoven, the first and second movements containing
fewer bars. It may be noted that in the first and last movements
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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