The Paganini Concerto - score

Preface

The Paganini Concerto was commissioned for the Paganini Gala of the Russian National Orchestra Grand Festival. The premiere took place at the Tchaikovsky Hall, Moscow, on 26^th September 2014. Mikhail Pletnev conducted the Russian National Orchestra and Artyom Dervoed was the soloist. The concert was broadcast on Russia’s Kultura TV Channel. 

It was Artyom Dervoed who suggested that I write a concerto for guitar and orchestra in the style of Paganini, based on the Grand Sonata in A Major M.S.3. The idea of a Paganini guitar concerto really appealed to me, so I was very happy to team up with Artyom and Mikhail Pletnev on the project. As the Grand Sonata is a relatively early work, written in or before 1803 when Paganini was 20 or 21, the style is closer to Mozart and Haydn than it is to Paganini’s violin concerti, which date from between 1818 and 1830. Consequently, my concerto follows the conventions of a Classical period concerto. It remains faithful to the style of the day and should be performed as if it was written by Paganini in 1803.

I decided to keep the concerto solo part close to Paganini’s original guitar part. My source was a facsimile of the autograph manuscript which is housed in the Biblioteca Casanatense in Rome (ref. 5625) and reproduced in the Urtext edition by Giuseppe Gazzelloni, published by Chanterelle (ISBN 3-89044-062-2). The solo part has been revised in a number of places to fit the requirements of the concerto. I have also modernised the notation to give a clear indication of the rhythmic duration of each voice.

I have made a number of structural changes to Paganini’s Grand Sonata. I’ve added an orchestral exposition to the first movement and an introduction to the ‘Romance’. In the finale, I have removed one of Paganini’s variations, added a new one of my own, and I’ve reworked the ending. I have created separate tutti and solo sections, and composed extended cadenzas for the soloist.

I would like to thank Artyom Dervoed for all his constructive collaborative work with me on this project. He made many excellent suggestions which really helped to strengthen the overall impact and effectiveness of the concerto.