Introduction

Celebrated as "a masterpiece", "the Paganini of our century" and more by the world's most renown violinists (Jennifer Koh, Rachel Barton Pine, Mark O'Connor, Dr. Rubén Salazar, Matt Bell, Ikuko Kanda Whitehouse, Tracy Silverman, et al.) this collection is one all violinists are getting their hands on!

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Are They Études?

While often used to train personal or protégé technique, these are not études. Etymology of the word "caprice" makes this a common question.

 

Since the mid 1600s, Locatelli, Gaviniès, Rode, Dont, and Paganini each wrote 24 caprices for violin too. Those by Gaviniès, Rode, and Dont are études (studies) for technical development. Those by Locatelli, Paganini and myself constitute performance repertoire.

 

This is obvious after a listen, so stay tuned for my solo album

The New 24 Caprices, aiming to release this summer!

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More Details

The choice to specifically write "24" continues the  legacy of: 

• Pietro Locatelli    (1695-1764)

• Pierre Gaviniès   (1728-1800)

• Pierre Rode        (1774-1830)

• Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840)

• Jakob Dont         (1815-1888)

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Locatelli had written 25 caprices. Because his 25th caprice is a theme and variations upon his Sonata No. 12 in D minor, Op. 6., many argue that it cannot definitively be a caprice. I welcome the reader to decide for themselves.

 

​This new 24 caprice project sought to do something relevant for today’s violinists. 2010 began ten unbroken years writing these, using them as encores, taking feedback, rewriting, and finally publishing them together in 2020! 

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What Makes Them "Relevant"?

This music features multiple genres and styles. (Nearly all are sampled throughout my instagram @TheViolinDoctor.)

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During the 18th and 19th century, diverse musical arts were genuinely hard to access. That era was also a peak of classicism, elitism, and racism, which exascerbated this problem.

 

Of the composers mentioned above, Paganini had been the only one to ever leave his native country (touring to France). While his 24 caprices pushed the violin’s technical horizons beyond Gaviniès, Rode, and Dont's, they are still limited to one style and one genre.

 

For that reason, these 24 Caprices include a substantial diversity of musical styles. The collection includes:

✔3 Fugues
✔3 Showpieces
✔3 Études
✔2 Fiddle works
✔2 Impressionist works
✔2 Waltzes
✔1 Tango
✔1 Blues
✔1 Jazz Passacaglia
✔1 Rhapsody
✔1 Scribed Improvisation 
✔1 Theme & 24 Variations (3rd Edition exclusive)
✔2 Contemporary Classical works (featuring chromaticism)
✔1 Theatrical Work (on a theme written for my Music Director  days in Theater) “This Girl Laughs” arranged for solo violin

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How Difficult Are They?

Opinion-polls from over 110 players say they land between the J.S. Bach "6 Sonatas & Partitas" and N. Paganini's "24 Caprices".

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For what my personal opinion is worth, if the non-ornamented U.S. National Anthem is 1, and the "Six Polyphonic Études" of H.W. Ernst were 10, I would place these works at 6.5.

 

Technical Overview:

• ✔ The highest pitch is a B6.

• ✔ One caprice is primarily jétè.

• ✔ Two caprices have brief double-stop harmonics.

• ✔ Four caprices include one or more double-trills.

• ✔ Six caprices include mixed meters.

• ✔ Seven caprices include left-hand pizzicato.

• ✔ Four caprices include slurred upbow staccato.

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Professional Review

The Sarufutsu Education Board of Japan's Composition Professor, Dr. Ruben Salazar, calls them "...the new 24 caprices" in reference to Paganini. His full review is in the preface of the 2nd and 3rd editions.

 

The University of Arizona, Fred Fox School of Music has said that it is "...a masterpiece of advanced violin repertoire reflecting the musical globalism and diversity of the 21st century."​

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Philosophical Importance

Diverse repertorial collections are important for today's violinists. Many professionally-trained violinists never realize anything beyond western classical music. This wor k encourages artists to realize other culture's music as worth learning and celebrating.

 

These 24 Caprices purposefully expand artist's diversity of technique, awareness of foreign arts, and musical appetite.​ Brilliant performances have spread rapidly all over the world. Thousands of prints have already shipped all over the world because there is something truly here for everyone.

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Caprice No. 18

Caprice No. 18 in D Major was replaced in 2025 for all future editions.  Observing performer feedback, it never reached the popularity of the other twenty-three. I replaced it to give consumers the best I have to offer.

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The new Caprice No. 18 in E Phrygian (A Minor) has taken its place in all future prints and downloads.  It will also replace the original 18th caprice on the upcoming solo album, The New 24 Caprices.

 

The new Caprice No. 18 will be a FREE download upon request to all pre-2025 purchasers with proof of purchase. ​

Request at the bottom of this screen.