Credits:

Paganini (1782-1840)

Description:

Maxim Brilinsky, the Vienna Philharmonic's most talented player, suddenly makes an impressive CD debut with his beloved "24 Caprices"! Maxim Brilinsky, who has been the first violinist of the Vienna Philharmonic since 2011, has won prizes at international competitions such as Paganini, Menuhin, Britten, and Sendai, and is a soloist with high technique and excellent musicianship. Born in Lviv, Ukraine in 2002, Brilinsky began playing the violin at the age of five and studied at the Vienna Conservatory with Michael Fritschschlager and at the Paris Conservatory with Kantorov. In 2008, he became the second violinist of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, the first violinist of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in 2011, and the concertmaster of the Wiener Hofmusikkapelle in 2018. Brilinski's first solo album is a collection of Paganini's "24 Caprices," one of the most difficult violin pieces of all time.Brilinsky sheds light not on the devilish side of Paganini, also known by his nickname "The Devil's Violinist," but rather on a hitherto neglected quality, full of beautiful Italianate cantilena and rich song: "This piece is a song, song, and song again! It is a song, a song, and a song again! This piece holds a special place among the greatest works ever written for the violin. It requires all the virtuosity of the violin instrument and a high level of playing technique, but it is not empty music that merely shows off its mechanics. Each piece is a small work of art with its own character, in which the charm of the violin instrument is explored to the utmost." There have been many great recordings of the "24 Caprices" in the past, but this one makes one wonder if no one has ever recorded the work in such a way as this performance by Bilinski, which allows the listener to appreciate the beauty of the work's noble song. Brilinsky's musicality in every sense of the word brings out new charm from this work.Since the total playing time of the 24 pieces exceeds 90 minutes, the 2-CD set includes Paganini's unaccompanied masterpiece "Variations on Ner Col Più" as a coupling. Sony Music