PAGANINI RETURNS TO LONDON: The 175th Anniversary of Nicolò Paganini's Original Tour
Monday the 27th of February to Sunday the 5th of March 2006
The revolutionary virtuoso Nicolò Paganini visited London for the first time in 1831. From Monday 27th February to Sunday 5th March 2006, the Royal Academy of Music marks the 175th anniversary of his visit with 'Paganini in London', a series of performances, research events and exhibitions. The festival will explore what Paganini was playing in London, how he played it and the public responses to his playing.
The two greatest virtuosos of the nineteenth century, Franz Liszt and Nicolò Paganini, still represent the summit of aspiration for pianists and violinists today. Only extraordinary musicians can hope to achieve adulatory accounts such as Liszt and Paganini often earned for their playing. The evidence of their astonishing compositions is incontrovertible. The greatest performers of their time, they travelled constantly — and often to London and throughout Britain. Of course, they came for the high fees and public adulation, but also for the sophisticated and cosmopolitan audiences which they found here.
For Paganini London was particularly important, as it was here he began to be appreciated not just as a freak of nature but as a complete musician who advocated late Beethoven string quartets almost as fervently as his own Caprices. This festival will illustrate his continuing influence not just on the violin world but on composers and performers of all kinds. During this intensive week, we will enjoy a wide variety of concerts, lectures and seminars which build up the full context for that visit 175 years ago: from chamber performances in which some of the Academy's most renowned string professors collaborate with current students, to a compositional outreach project with pupils from Mandeville School in Buckinghamshire. The idée fixe will be the wonderful solo caprices which, together with the Second Concerto, La Campanella, will give the Academy's student violinists a chance to test their mettle. The exhibition in the York Gate Collections brings together paintings, manuscripts, objects and other rare artefacts relevant to Paganini's London career.
The jewel in the crown is Paganini's beloved il Cannone (the Cannon), made by Guarneri del Gesù in 1742 and undoubtedly the most famous violin in the world, which has been loaned to the Academy by the City of Genoa for the festival. For our closing concert, the modern-day Paganini and Academy professor, Maxim Vengerov, will play il Cannone: a performance which promises to be an epic event by any standard.
Sincerely,
C J
Dr. Christopher J. Reiss, Musician & Friend of the Royal Academy of Music
PS Check the events link for specific dates, in addition to other great shows ranging from "A Night at the Chinese Opera", to "Jazz Improvisation & Synaesthesia", and "Musical Theatre Showcases", over and above the standard "Masterclasses", "York Gate Research Events" and "Lunchtime Classics"..... R.A.M. EVENTS, Spring 2006
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