• Tracks

Nicolò Paganini's Quartets for Strings and Guitar are among his finest chamber compositions. The First Guitar Quartet was a wedding gift from Paganini to his younger sister; and both this and the Second Quartet share neo-classical poise with warmly expressive romantic lyricism. The Ninth Quartet features sweet and melancholy moods containing some of Paganini's most disarmingly simple melodies, and as the composer himself stated, 'a very fanciful minuet and a moving trio'. The "Paganini Ensemble Vienna" has set it's goal high in presenting this rarely played program which offers unique insight into Paganini's extensive oeuvre for the violin, guitar, viola, and violoncello. These works offer not only technical virtuosity and moments of tremendous passion, but also passages expressing great tenderness, suffering, and joy. Indeed, these emotional elements are essential to understanding the music of Nicolo Paganini, who once said "We must strongly feel to make others feel."