Schumann and Liszt: Two Versions of Paganini’s Ninth Caprice

Abstract

This paper deals with Etudes on Paganini’s Caprices by Liszt and Schumann. The novelty of Paganini’s approach to artistic and virtuosic capacities of violin is noted; the impact of Paganini’s instrumental skill on his contemporaries — ​great romantic composers — ​is analyzed. The author also gives detailed comparison of Schumann’s and Liszt’s transcriptions of Paganini’s Ninth caprice regarding structure, texture, tempo and rhythm, articulation, dynamics, fingering, performing remarks. In the Appendix the first version of Liszt’s Etude (dated 1838) is given.