Maria Duenas Paganini 24 Caprices (2 UHQCD)

María Dueñas Fernández was born in Granada on December 4, 2002. In 2021, she won first prize in the senior category of the Yehudi Menuhin Competition and has since been considered one of the most promising musicians of her generation. In 2022, she signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. After her award-winning debut ("A Spectacular Start to a Recording Career" – Gramophone Magazine), the Spanish violinist presents her second album, which is now being released for the first time as a high-resolution UHQ double CD thanks to Deutsche Grammophon and Universal Music Japan. At the centre of the brilliant recording are the legendary 24 Caprices by Niccolò Paganini, famous as one of the most demanding works ever written for the violin.
"Paganini's 24 Caprices are a milestone for every violinist," says Dueñas. The cycle is known for its breathtaking finesse and virtuosity, and at the same time is characterized by its musical diversity and depth. In order to "bring out the vocal quality of the Caprices", Dueñas' wish is to bring out "the music behind the technique". The album is complemented by a mix of solo, chamber and orchestral caprices inspired by the devil's violinist Paganini. Among them are selected pieces by Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Sarasate, Wieniawski as well as two works written especially for Dueñas by contemporary composers Jordi Cervelló and Gabriela Ortiz, the latter in a world premiere recording. Dueñas will be accompanied by violinist Boris Kuschnir, pianists Itamar Golan and Alexander Malofeev and guitarist Raphaël Feuillâtre. In the orchestral works of Berlioz and Saint-Saëns, she is supported by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the conductor Mihhail Gerts. "A Caprice offers a wide range of colours and dynamics, and there is also improvisation in it. It's about more than the technical fireworks. It's about rhapsodic freedom, about color, about creativity, about everything that makes the violin such an enchanting instrument," says María Dueñas.
UHQCD stands for Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc and is a joint development of the Japanese CD replication company Memory-Tech and the Audio Quality CD Company from Hong Kong. UHQCDs, unlike conventional CDs, are not pressed from polycarbonate, but cast from a photopolymer and cured with UV light. To protect the softer photopolymer from scratching, another layer of high-purity polycarbonate is applied. The combination results in a significantly reduced reflection of the laser light inside the CD and an unrivalled precise edge transition between pits and lands of the CD. UHQCDs are 100% compatible with normal CD players. Musically, the result is a sound that is strongly reminiscent of analog master tapes.
While Universal Music Japan's first UHQCD series relied on the DSD data of previous SHM-SACD releases, albums that had not previously been released as SHM-SACD are now being released with increasing popularity. Typically, the master tapes of the Universal Archive are re-converted to DSD for this purpose. UHQCDs are ideal for music lovers who want to get as close as possible to the sound of the recording, but do not have a SACD player.

Musicians:

• María Dueñas, violin
• Raphaël Feuillâtre, guitar
• Boris Kuschnir, violin
• Itamar Golan, piano
• Alexander Malofeev, piano
• Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
• Mihhail Gerts, conductor

Selections:

Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840)
24 Caprices for Solo Violin
UHQCD 1
1. Caprice No.1 In E Major (Andante)
2. Caprice No.2 In B Minor (Moderato)
3. Caprice No.3 In E Minor (Sostenuto – Presto – Sostenuto)
4. Caprice No.4 In C Minor (Maestoso)
5. Caprice No.5 In A Minor (Agitato)
6. Caprice No.6 In G Minor (Lento)
7. Caprice No.7 In A Minor (Posato)
8. Caprice No.8 In E Flat Major (Maestoso)
9. Caprice No.9 In E Major (Allegretto)
10. Caprice No.10 In G Minor (Vivace)
11. Caprice No.11 In C Major (Andante – Presto – Tempo I)
12. Caprice No.12 In A Flat Major (Allegro)
13. Caprice No.13 In B flat Major (Allegro)
14. Caprice No.14 In E Flat Major (Moderato)
15. Caprice No.15 In E Minor (Posato)
16. Caprice No.16 In G Minor (Presto)
17. Caprice No.17 In E Flat Major (Sostenuto – Andante)
18. Caprice No.18 In C Major (Corrente)
19. Caprice No.19 In E Flat Major (Lento – Allegro Assai)
20. Caprice No.20 In D Major (Allegretto)
UHQCD 2
1. Caprice No.21 In A Major (Amoroso)
2. Caprice No.22 In F Major (Marcato)
3. Caprice No.23 In E Flat Major (Posato)
4. Caprice No.24 In A Minor (Tema. Quasi Presto – Variazioni – Finale)
5. Sarasate: Caprice Basque
6. Cervelló: Milstein Caprice
7. Wieniawski: Étude-Caprice
8. Ortiz: De Cuerda y Madera Capriccio
9. Saint-Saëns: Caprice Andalous
10. Berlioz: Rêverie & Caprice
11. Saint-Saëns: Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso