Paganini at the Piano

MARK HAMBOURG (1879-1960): Variations on a Theme by Paganini*, MICHAEL ZADORA (1882-1946): Eine Paganini-Caprice*, Paganini-Caprice No. 19 in E Flat*, BORIS PAPANDOPULO (1906-1991): 3 Capriccios after Paganini*, IGNAZ FRIEDMAN (1882-1948): Studies on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 47b, FERRUCCIO BUSONI (1866-1924): Introduzione e Capriccio (Paganinesco). * - First Recordings.

Description: In the years between 1902 and 1914 some of the world’s greatest pianists published a series of works that explored the lyricism and virtuosity of Paganini’s Caprices. Busoni was the greatest figure among them, but he considered Hambourg to be the greatest pianistic talent of his generation. Both Zadora and Friedman carried out inventive free transcriptions while years later in 1981 the Croatian Papandopulo infused the pungent flavors of mid-twentieth-century idioms into the genre. Goran Filipec (piano).