Paganini defined violin bravura in the first half of the nineteenth century. As one of the greatest and certainly the most spectacular executants of the instrument, he provoked a storm of excitement with his recital and concert performances. He wrote six concertos for the violin, the Fifthdating from around 1830. Despite the fact that only the solo part has survived – Federico Mompellio completed the work – it contains a lexicon of brilliant gymnastics and rich melodies cut from his finest cloth. Paganini’s sheer technical mastery can also be gauged from two of his most popular and dramatic pieces, the Moto perpetuo, Op. 11 and I palpiti, Op. 13.
