Sonatas of Italian violin virtuoso Paganini flow from classical guitar

Carlo Fierens bridged two sonic worlds with his Paganini tribute concert in Puducherry. The audience was kept riveted as he essayed concerto movements of sonatas and capriccios from Paganini's repertoire on the classical guitar. The event was hosted by Open Space, an art and culture collective, and was supported by the Italian Consulate in Bengaluru and the Institute of Italian Culture, Mumbai. Fierens' performance included the "Caprice No. 24", the "Carnival of Venice" and the "Grand Sonata for the Guitar". The Italian Consulate plans to bring more events to Puducherry.

PUDUCHERRY

Classical guitarist Carlo Fierens bridged two distinct sonic worlds, as he presented signature scores of the 19th century Italian violin virtuoso and composer Niccolò Paganini at a tribute concert in the city last week.

The audience gathered at the courtyard of the “Gratitude” heritage property in the city’s French Quarter, was kept riveted through the evening as Carlo Fierens essayed concerto movements of sonatas and capriccios from Paganini’s repertoire on the classical guitar — a masterful play alternating between lively passages, complex nuances, frenetic runs and melancholic segments, before moving inexorably to the coda at the conclusion of each piece.

The Paganini tribute concert was hosted by Open Space, an art and culture collective in the city, under the auspices of the Italian Consulate in Bengaluru and the Institute of Italian Culture, Mumbai.

Fierens’s instrumental suite for the evening included one of the legendary composer’s most famous solo violin compositions, the “Caprice No. 24”, the final piece in a set of Capriccios, the “Carnival of Venice”, an original Neapolitan folk tune that Paganini layered with several variations for violin (the guitar version composed by Francisco Tarrega, a legendary modern classical guitarist from the Romantic era) and the “Grand Sonata for the Guitar”, a complex sonata that Paganini wrote for the guitar.

The concert also had guitar expositions of a Paganini-inspired capriccio by Romantic era Italian guitarist Giulio Regondi and “Red Fantasy”, a guitar piece by Kevin Callahan somewhat of an ode to red wine and more modern-sounding, which, Carlos Fierens felt, “shares some of the features of the pieces presented for the evening”.

“The music of Paganini symbolises the Italian musical idea and at the same time is universal and romantic melodies and extreme virtuosity that can be compelling and resonate with different cultures,” said Carlo Fierens.