CHALLENGE CLASSICS

PAGANINI

Violin Concerto Op. 6, No. 1

Limburg Symphony Orchestra, Maastricht

Yoel Levi – conductor

Schlomo Mintz – violin

Performed on Paganini’s own violin nicknamed “Il Cannone”

Cat No: CC72197 (DVD)

This DVD features a live recording of the Violin Concerto no.1 by Niccoló Paganini performed by Shlomo Mintz on Paganini’s own violin, nicknamed ‘Il Cannone”.

The concert took place on 6th September 1997 in “Theatre aan het Vrijthof Maastricht” in the Netherlands, with the Limburg Symphony Orchestra Maastricht conducted by Yoel Levi. The concert is preceded by a short account of the concert preparations in Genoa and the violin’s extraordinary journey to Maastricht.

Nicolo Paganini is regarded as the greatest violin virtuoso in history, and his appearance and wild exuberant performances led to stories that he was in league with the devil himself. He was without doubt, however, a skilled showman, and pioneered the use of harmonics, whilst tuning his instrument to produce special effects. He also used several styles of bowing, and exploited staccato and pizzicato as never before. He wrote six violin concertos in all, but the first is particularly remarkable as it set a new standard of virtuosity and influenced the composition of violin music ever after.

Shlomo Mintz is regarded as one of the foremost violinists of our time. He was a pupil of the legendary Ilona Feher and studied later on in New York with Dorothy Delay and Isaac Stern. Shlomo Mintz made 

his debut at the age of 11 with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta and at the age of 16 at Carnegie Hall in New York. He regularly appears with the most celebrated orchestras and conductors and is heard in recitals and chamber music concerts all around the world.

Born in 1950 in Romania, Yoel Levi grew up in Israel, and studied at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music. He went on to study with Franco Ferrara in Sienna and Rome, with Kiril Kondrashin in the Netherlands, and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. In 1988, Levi started a long and fruitful collaboration with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and as its conductor produced a series of wonderful recordings for the American label “Telarc”. Since 2001, he has been music advisor and principal conductor of the Flemish Radio Orchestra and is the Principal Guest Conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.