Paganini Caprice no. 16

As a violist, I never thought that I would have to play Paganini. In school, watching my violinist friends struggle with the Caprices made me grateful that I had chosen a more sensible instrument. Not only is Paganini famously difficult, but there is also the knowledge that every string player in earshot is going to be listening and judging, comparing you to recordings of the greatest violinists in history. In more honest moments, I may have acknowledged a bit of jealousy, brought on by the fact that the Viola does not really have music comparable to the Caprices, and that I would not have had the skill to play them even if we did. I decided that I did not like Paganini, and that as a violist, I was above such silly displays of empty virtuosity.

When Mr. Kawasaki, one of my teachers at the University of Cincinnati, suggested that I work on Paganini, I dismissed it out of hand. He was a very technically minded teacher, and over the seven years that I studied with him and Dr. Carroll, they methodically rebuilt my playing from the ground up. I was (and still am) extremely grateful for the skills that they taught me, but by the end of my time with them I felt like had reached the limits of my technical progress. I was ready to be a musician, I was not interested in the mindless finger exercises of Paganini! My next teach was Sally Chisholm at the University of Wisconsin. She talked about music very differently than my previous teachers, and her thinking about viola technique seemed completely new to me. So I was surprised when she suggested that I work on Paganini, just as Mr. Kawasaki had! I guess the moral of the story is to trust your teachers when they tell you do something. Who knew!?

Anyway, some of the greatest advances in my playing have come from practicing Paganini. The Caprices are sometimes dismissed as “simple” show-pieces, but I find them to be a fascinating collection of works. They can be straightforward and satisfying, but are also often quirky and surprising in interesting ways. He always finds a way to engage your musical imagination, enticing you to improve past what you thought you could do. I have never had a performance of Paganini that was entirely successful (including this video, sigh), but working on this music always makes me better!