Romance from Grand Sonata for Guitar and Violin (Niccolò Paganini)

Grand Sonata for Guitar and Violin
II. Romance
Op. 39, MS. 3

Composer: Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840)

Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (27 October 1782 – 27 May 1840) was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique.

Paganini lived from 1782-1840 and this was a very influential time for the early classical guitar. Early in terms of it coming into the modern era of guitar. Paganini wrote a lot of various pieces for solo guitar including 43 Caprices and 37 Sonatas. Probably the most famous of his guitar works is his Grand Sonata for violin and Guitar. Paganini was a contemporary of the famous guitarists of the time and he was acquainted with them. Besides performed with one of them as part of a duet, including Giuliani and Carulli, Paganini also performed a series of concerts with classical guitarist Luigi Legnani.

The Grand Sonata for Guitar and Violin in A major Op. 35, MS 3, is a composition by Paganini. It is one of the few works he composed for guitar and is considered a masterpiece of the Romantic era. Paganini wrote the piece in 1805, but it was not published until 1828, long after he had established himself as a violinist. The sonata has three movements:

1 - Allegro risoluto
2 - Romanza
3 - Andantino variato

The second movement, Romanza, is a lyrical and expressive adagio in A minor, which provides a contrast to the first movement. This arrangement for solo guitar by Canadian guitarist Norbert Kraft is selected as RCM (The Royal Conservatory of Music) level 8 repertoire.

 
Top