Paganini and Wieniawski were among the nineteenth century's most famous violin virtuosos and composed some of the solo violin repertoire's most treasured works. Here, in one large-format playing edition, are three of their most celebrated works for solo violin: Paganini's innovative Caprices, Op. 1, and Wieniawski's much-admired collections, L'Ecole Moderne, Op. 10, and Etudes Caprices, Op. 18.
Nicoló Paganini (1782-1840) developed a phenomenal playing technique, and literally transformed violin playing with his dazzling technical breakthroughs — fingered octaves, double-, triple-, and quadruple-stop chords, and "ricochet" bowings among them. His twenty-four Caprices, reprinted here from the definitive C. F. Peters edition, are a virtual textbook summation of his extraordinary achievements.
Henryk Wieniawski (1835–80) greatly enriched the violin literature with his highly individual style, combining Paganini's technical advances with a soaring Romanticism and distinctive Slavonic coloring. His collections of etudes, reprinted here from authoritative editions, are, like Paganini's Caprices, among the most demanding works in the solo violin repertory and essential parts of every violinist's training.