I made this video partly in response to the Paganini assignment

I was trying to explain to myself why so much of this performance was grating. It really does seem that the violin is in pain. Not a beautiful pain like “while my guitar gently weeps”, but more like a hoarse scream. To me, the violin (and cello and viola?) seem so similar to the human voice. I guess it makes sense — we have vocal cords and resonators, and they have vocal cords and resonators as well. In our case the strings are set in motion by air, and in their case because of friction from the touch of a bow.

We were asked to find some additional examples of the Paganini — the same piece performed by other musicians, or adaptations of it (variations, fantasies, …remixes?)

I had commented to one of my friends in class, “You just KNOW there’s going to be a version on electric guitar.” Here one is. The comments under the video said that the guitarist did a good job playing it fairly straight instead of turning it into a “power metal version”.

Here’s an adaptation for flute. I saw videos by several other flautists but I wanted a video where you could see the body language of the musician.

A leaf on the wind — leaping birds — spiral stems, vines dangling

2:59 arpeggios made me think of water bubbling in a stream

3:15 staccato? sharp breaths. Not harsh but jazzy, dance-like

3:48 riding along on the melody line, as if I were ice skating. A push, then gliding, pull into a turn…

playful, mournful, energetic but graceful, confident

Compared to this — the Markov version was brash, arrogant, “emo”

If his version was a person near me on the bus I would move away to another seat. Dude, have you been taking your meds? Maybe you need anger management therapy.

I did not listen to this entire selection. I got about 3 minutes in and began to feel confused about whether we were still in a variation of Caprice # 24. Some of the harmonizations made me feel sort of queasy. I’m not sure what harmonies cause that feeling (disoriented, ill-at-ease). Note that the person who posted this included a huge amount of information about the different variations — what was different about each one, and what was especially challenging about each one.

Brahms was not a showman, and rarely wrote music which aimed at being technically difficult. But when he did, he out-Liszted Liszt. The Paganini Variations, as you can tell from their main title, are not just a fully-fledged concert work but also a set of exercises for study, featuring technical challenges that are often more than a little obscene [19:24]. As always, the variations are also musically dazzling in their variety and invention. Kissin plays the faster variations with astounding bravura, [11:29] dynamic control [16:05], and articulation [16:49], and is exquisitely delicate in the slower ones [07:45].

This is a version that’s being played through MIDI software. It’s unpleasantly robotic to listen to, but the hand patterns were fascinating to me. My previous keyboard experience was on organ (with separated keyboards). It’s interesting to see how the 2 hands share and trade the notes back and forth.

Caprice # 24 begins at the 20:22 mark.

20:30  I can imagine doing these arpeggios — relaxed and graceful

20:53 — light tripping staccato notes

21:18 — low rumbling, running like a motor. “Perdendosi”?

21:32 — “stabby”. I don’t think the piano is in any danger, but this sounds like it might hurt the fingers.

21:46 — anxious sounding rapid chromatic runs

22:00 — “magical” — little sparkly phrases on the rt. hand, darker phrases on the left

22:20 — headbanger! Envigorating.

22:43 — wiry, vine-like

22:53 — OK, sounds like the piano is giggling

“Scherzando” does mean “playfully” (or, as Dr. Greenberg says, it literally means “I’m joking”), but this is really silly and cute.

23:00 — more headbanging! “Fuocoso” apparently means fiery or passionately.

23:12 — burbling

23:30 — twinkly. The extended trill does give me a feeling of unease or suspense, though.

24:06 — the piano is roaring and thundering. Waves on a stormy sea

24:35 — those are some weird harmonies!

24:54 — this must be the big finish. I can hear the main theme buried deep in the mix.

Now — huge waves — this part makes me think of winding up to throw a shot put. Gathering energy…

And he throws it!

Hello All,

this is a test! I’m checking to see how the Canvas discussions work.

Here is the version of the Paganini caprice that I will be discussing. The original video showed Alexander Markov played Caprice no. 24. The link I’m posting is a piano performance by Daniil Trifonov. He is playing a series of variations on Paganini, composed by Franz Liszt. The section that is adapted from Caprice no. 24 begins at the 20:22 mark and continues to the end. I loved watching this video because it shows the sheet music in realtime. I’ll be back with my full discussion later.

Note, I don’t understand how the discussions on Canvas work. Are we posting them to the group at large, or is this just a communication with the prof? If the former, it’s worrisome that no one else has responded yet.

Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 for violin

In order to receive full credit, you must answer the questions thoroughly in your own words.

What other composers wrote variations, fantasies, or other versions of this caprice?

Please post other performances and/or versions of this work.  Comment how they are similar to the original caprice.

Which piece do you like the most and what makes it an interesting, exciting, or beautiful performance?

Link to Alexander Markov’s performance that we heard in class :

Yuja Wang:  Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini  (15:22 is the most famous variation, but please watch the entire work; it’s incredibly beautiful)

Click below to  listen to the Accordare Piano Duo, Dr. Rehwoldt and Dr. Suter performing Lutoslawski’s Variations on a Theme of Paganini at a live concert in San Diego.

I am having trouble knowing how much time to allot for my homework assignments. Several times I’ve would up working past 1 am. I have been a night owl for many years and and I seem to have my best focus around 1 and 2 am, but…now I have to get up at 7 in order to catch the bus. 5 hrs of sleep makes for a long stressful day. This past week I came into a Wednesday very short on sleep and had not allotted enough time to practice for voice lessons. Since one of the new songs I’m learning is in Italian, I spent time on the bus (and in the stairwell) practicing the Italian, saying the syllables as clearly as possible, with very pure vowels. Over and over. In rhythm, with the tune in my head. The combination of the lack of sleep, over-studying, and adrenaline about the lesson led to the worst earworm I have had in a very long time. I COULD NOT get the song to stop. It kept playing in continuous repeats. When I came home I was able to take a nap, which helped. I also took a break from that song for a few days. This afternoon was the first I had sung it since Wednesday. The first page is gently playing in the background right now. I wish my brain would move on to pg. 3 which is the part I actually need to work on. “Di belezza non s’aprezza lo splendor / se non vien dun fido cor, dun fido cor. / Di belezza non s’a…prez…ZA lo-o-o splendor, se non vien (carefully) d’un fido (very carefully) co-o-or, d’un (F# major) fido cor!”

I wonder what actually causes the “earworm” phenomenon, and why some days are worse than others.