Word: violins
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Deutsche Grammophon's new release "Paganini for Two" with violinist Gil Shaham and guitarist Goran Sollscher advertises itself as "Italian Music for Violin & Guitar-Perfect Company for Relaxing at Home." Recently breaking Billboard's classical top 20 as well as Tower's classical top 10, this recording's success continues a trend in popular classical music which arguably started with the fuss over Henryk Gorecki's third symphony, and includes the more recent "international phenomenon" of Chant...
...might be expected with Paganini's work in general, the violin usually has the more interesting of the two parts, and I compliment Sollscher for his consistently sensitive playing. Shaham is right at home in the genre, and considering his knuckle-busting recording of Wieniawski's first violin concerto, the works are but child's play for such a player gifted with a singular virtuoso technique. To his credit, Shaham avoids adding excessive schmaltz, and concentrates on making solid music with the material...
Though Paganini's music by its very nature is not profound, one finds less of Paganini's naturally extroverted nature in his writing for violin and guitar. We see more of an introspective bent than one might expect from the composer of such flashy showpieces as Le streghe and the first violin concerto, both touchstones of technical facility. But, those looking for violinist pyrotechnics certainly will not be disappointed--Shaham has ample opportunity to flex his violinist technique, and he dose so impressively, yet tastefully...
During the first work on the disc, Sonata concertata, we see a dilaogue that develop between violin and guitar, and while not terribly profound, it is still rather charming...
Shaham and Sollscher next chose to record three of a cycle of six "sonatas" (perhaps more accurately termed sonatinas), and these are clearly for the purpose of highlighting the violin. The extended left hand pizzicato passage near the end of the first sonata is mind-boggling, and Shaham handles the famous passage of thirds found in the latter part of the sixth sonata with uncommon finesse...