The talented violinist George Daskalakis, in a concert that poses a challenge both for the audience and for himself, takes on one of the most demanding programs in the violin repertoire. On Thursday, April 30, at his recital in the Mitropoulos Hall at the Megaron, the Athens Concert Hall, in a production by the Friends of Music Association, he will perform Niccolò Paganini’s 24 Caprices and Theodoros Antoniou’s 24 Caprices.

In 1820, the Ricordi publishing house released the 24 Caprices for solo violin by Niccolò Paganini, a legendary composer who left an indelible mark on his era, transforming the violin not only into a musical instrument, but also into an instrument of technique and endurance (an “athletic” instrument), both in his own time and in the days to come. Since then, many have taken on Paganini, composing works for violin or other instruments inspired by his Caprices: Franz Liszt with his Études d’exécution transcendantes d’après Paganini for piano, Robert Schumann with piano accompaniment, and Sergei Rachmaninoff with his Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra based on the 24th Capriccio. Two hundred years later, a Greek composer, Theodoros Antoniou, takes up the challenge, writing his own 24 Caprices for solo violin, commissioned by the Megaron, Athens Concert Hall. The source of the musical content is the Greek folk tradition. With a contemporary perspective, the composer challenges the violinist to keep the tradition alive in our time and into the future. The work is presented in its world premiere.

Schedule

NICCOLO PAGANINI

24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1

THEODOROS ANTONIOU

24 Caprices for Solo Violin
(Commissioned by the Athens Concert Hall, world premiere)

VIOLIN

George Daskalakis