Today we return to the violin repertoire, and this time to the unaccompanied, more etude-like side of the spectrum with Paganini’s Caprices.

To refresh, Paganini was known as the preeminent violin virtuoso of his day, and his exploits with the violin were so famous as to create a legend around him that lives on to this day – did he sell his soul to the devil in exchange for the fiendish abilities he possessed on the violin?

Whatever the case, Paganini was not only a performer without equal in his day, but also a composer of music as challenging as he was capable, as evidenced by his 24 Caprices, which remain to this day at the core of advanced violin study and performance.

Today, I have selected perhaps the most famous of Paganini’s Caprices – No. 24 and returned to a performer whom we have also seen before – Hillary Hahn – for her unmatched precision both with intonation and clarity of the bow.  Enjoy!