24 Caprices pour mandoline solo

Description

In 1819, Ricordi published for the first time the 24 Caprices for violin by Niccolo Paganini, a concentration of extreme technical difficulties that would inspire a large number of composers such as Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, and Rachmaninoff... Vladimir Cosma has already enriched the concert repertoire for mandolin with the Concerto Mediterraneo for mandolin and orchestra, the Fantaisie concertante for mandolin and strings, the Suite populaire for mandolin and accordion, the Triptyque for plectrum quartet, and the 16 Duos for mandolin and guitar, composed between 2015 and 2018. The 24 Caprices de concert are dedicated solely to the mandolin, presenting a unique set devoted to the instrument, both in its proportions and its ambition to be both virtuosic and expressive. Dedicated, like the previously mentioned works, to Vincent Beer-Demander, the piece is conceived as a tribute and a reference to the 24 Caprices for solo violin (1820) by Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840). Composed in 2018, the 24 Caprices de concert present themselves as an organized whole, a cycle whose conception is profoundly personal. Each caprice complements those that surround it, and the succession of keys, tempos, and dynamics responds to the necessity of a global architecture that makes the work not just a simple collection of interchangeable numbers, but a continuous progression where each step nourishes the next. Each caprice takes the name of a character or a film theme for which Vladimir Cosma wrote the music, such as the 24th caprice taken from The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe. Humor, brilliance, and lightness of tone that do not contradict the musical density are the main axes of this lively piece that crowns this unique cycle, destined to become a benchmark in the repertoire dedicated to the instrument.