Naples and the Anniversary of the Death of Giuliani

Today Robin is in Naples.
He has been a number of times before and always seems to have some sort of adventure, as you can read here on the post 'Navigating Naples and the Tale of the Mandolin.'

But today isn't as much an adventure but more a time of reflection.
181 years ago, this very day, Mauro Giuliani died in Naples at the age of 48.
The Italian guitarist and composer has played a huge part in Robin's life, and that of all classical guitarists world wide.
I have written about him before in the post, 'The Divine Giuliani - Beethoven'
It somehow seems fitting, that by coincidence, Robin is there today.

However, Naples has a strong musical history, Ferdinando Carulli was born there, Rossini spent some of his early career as musical director of the Teatro Del Fondo in Naples, where he was commissioned to compose one opera a year, and Paganini is known to have been at various points in his career.

It is somehow comforting to know these incredible musicians have walked these very streets:



Naples is also the location of one of the most active volcanoes, Mount Vesuvius. It last erupted in 1944, but is constantly monitored, so that anyone living in 'the red zone' can be moved to safety if any changes are detected.
Hopefully that won't be today as here is the enormous ship 'Eurodam' with the mighty Vesuvius in the background:



However it was this picture that really made me nervous:



As always on his travels Robin somehow manages to find a music shop.
This one specialises in mandolins plus the rather unusual Italian guitar.
I can relax though as I have been assured that it has remained firmly on the top shelf.

Too Many Heifetz Spoil the Paganini.

My apologies to anyone who may have checked in this morning to find six videos of Jascha Heifetz performing Paganini's Caprice No.24 in A Minor.
I actually tried to post this video two days ago, but, it seemed to take a while to get here, and then, like buses, arrived en masse.
I have since deleted them as you may have thought I'd lost my mind.
Oh well. Maybe I'll try again another day.

Today has been busy yet productive.
I have finally finished all the relevant paperwork for the release of the next CD.
You'll have to wait a couple of weeks for CD Baby to do their part.
I will, of course, update as and when I have news.

This has taken rather a lot of time.
But as Robin frequently pointed out over the last few days, as my patience started to wear thin, it didn't take anything like as long as recording the notes had.
Fair point.

It hasn't all been work.
I did manage to think of another use for old guitar strings, and put it into action.
You thread the guitar string through the middle of a couple of straws, and tie a knot.
This homemade item, then very loosely, represents a bow. Specially designed for the imaginary play of a 5 year old.
You should know that this bow doesn't actually work, and, that the arrows are also straws, making them rather useless.
But believe me, that's actually a good thing.....

The Paraguayan, Barrios, and Paganini.

Once the urge to play a piece has taken hold, there really is very little one can do.
The need to understand and interpret the piece becomes all consuming.
This has to happen though.
This is how new pieces are added to the repertoire, or, revisited after many years. Also, over time, any player will find alternative fingerings or hand positions, which will alter the feel of a piece.
All this has to be taken into account.

However, all this work doesn't go unnoticed.
Yesterday I had a comment sent about a post from back in December 2007. The post was 'Robin Hill plays Agustin Barrios', and was related to the piece of music, 'Villancico de Navidad', which you can hear an extract of, here, track 16.

The comment:

"Congratulations, very good interpretation."

We were obviously delighted by this. To receive praise for your music is always very special.
Especially so in this case, as the comment originated from a huge Barrios fan, as you can see from his own site, here.

But the piece currently being worked on, is Paganini, Caprice No.24. I must say it is sounding very good.
And believe me, I'm hearing a lot of it...
For now though, you'll just have to imagine this fantastic piece, being played on guitar.
That is until Robin has recorded it...

Hill is Home and Playing Paganini.

It doesn't take long for things to return to normal and the house to be filled with the sound of music.
Robin has been working on, 'Caprice No.24 in A Minor' by Niccolo Paganini.

Paganini was born in Genoa in 1782, and died in Nice, in 1840. At his home in Nice there is a plaque on the wall with the inscription:

'Niccolo Paganini died here, his magic notes still vibrate in the air.'

Very fitting for a musician who contributed so much to music.
Whilst he is best known for his work on violin, it isn't as well known that he was also an accomplished guitarist. In fact he abandoned the violin for a few years to study the guitar, as he, "Loved it for its harmony."

He actually wrote many pieces for guitar, the most substantial being, 'Grand Sonata in A Major', which has an incredibly difficult guitar part and relatively easy violin part. Today, this piece is generally performed on solo guitar.

Paganini often performed with his friend and accompanist, Luigi Legnani, who was a guitar virtuoso and composer.
You can here Robin play Legnani's 'Caprice No.7', here, and it's easy to hear the similarities in Paganini and Legnani's style of composition.

But for now, I'm just enjoying having live music back in the house.
Even if it is accompanied by the question, "Do you prefer this fingering , or this...?"

Robin Hill plays Agustin Barrios

The final track to discuss on 'Virtuoso' is track 16, 'Villancico de Navidad' , by Agustin Barrios.
I saved this one until the end to get you all in a festive mood as it is an arrangement of a Paraguayan Christmas song.

Agustin Barrios (1885-1944) was born in San Bautista de las Misiones, Paraguay, and was a guitarist and composer.
In 1910 he left Paraguay for a week of concerts in Argentina but was so successful that he was away for 14 years playing in Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.
I do hope that Robin doesn't do the same thing...

By 1934 Barrios travelled to Europe where he gave concerts in Brussels, Germany and Spain, and in 1936 he returned to Latin America where he taught in the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica, San Salvador.

Barrios composed over 100 works, many attributed to obscure European composers, as he believed they would be taken more seriously.
He's not alone in this practice, somewhere out there is a piece of music played on two guitars, by the composer 'Anna Naneek'.
I'll give you a clue, my maiden name was Keenan, and so far, only one person has spotted this...

Barrios is thought to be the first classical guitarist to make a record, in 1910, and also to have played a complete Bach Suite (Lute Suite No.1).
He was quite a character and in the later stages of his career he reinvented himself as 'Nitsuga Barrios Mangore', the Paganini from the jungles of Paraguay, and appeared on stage in full South American Indian costume!

Thankfully, as Robin is from Huddersfield, I can't think of any national dress that he may choose to wear on stage, and anyway my needlework skills would probably not be up to it.

Classical Guitarist Robin Hill plays Legnani

It's time for another audio clip.
This time it is 'Caprice No.7' by Luigi Legnani.

Legnani was born in Ferrara on the 7th November 1790 and died at the age of 87 in Ravenna on the 5th August 1877.
Legnani was a guitar virtuoso, composer and later in life, an instrument maker. He originally trained as an orchestral string player but devoted himself to singing and the guitar.

In 1807 and 1816 Legnani appeared in Ravenna as a tenor, performing arias by Cimarosa, Donizetti and Rossini. It was in 1819 when he launched his career as a concert guitarist in Milan.
Legnani was a friend of Paganini and together they gave concerts in the principal European Courts.

Legnani retired in 1840 to Ravenna where he became a guitar and violin maker.
250 works by Legnani have been published.

Although the Legnani Caprices have been part of the guitar repertoire for some time, concert performances and recordings have been sporadic, partly due to their difficulty and fast tempi.

Today you can hear Robin Hill performing, 'Caprice No.7', an ebullient piece, marked 'prestissimo', which as you can hear, it certainly is. This is in fact an out-take from the new CD, you should hear the final version...
This is an example of how important it is to practice your scales and arpeggios....