Caprice No. 24

Looking up the neo-classical heavy metal musician Yngwie Malmsteen on Wikipedia led me to an article I wouldn’t have expected to land on, the article for Paganini’s Caprice No. 24, a composition for the violin.

Evidently, Paganini was one of Malmsteen’s biggest influences (would that make Paganini roll over in his grave, or would he be proud?), and a portion of Caprice No. 24 even made it into one of Malmsteen’s works in 2000, albeit adapted for the electric guitar.

I was curious what Caprice No. 24 sounded like, though. According to its Wikipedia article, it’s one of the most demanding compositions for the violin and few violin players ever acquire the skills to play it completely.

Here’s a video I found on YouTube:

Welp, I’m impressed. I’ve never seen anyone play the fiddle violin like that. I don’t mean to cheapen the performance or piece with this, but around the 1:45 mark I couldn’t help but be reminded of heavy metal guitar solos. The rest of the piece was great. Browse around on YouTube for more renditions of it, including one reportedly by a five-year-old!

(If you’re wondering what this has to do with either “Kingdom” or “Geek,” well, then, I’m sorry you didn’t appreciate the video as I’m hoping some of you will.)

3 thoughts on “Caprice No. 24”

  1. Gregory Pittman

    Thanks for posting this video, Rick. I’ve been in music a long time and haven’t seen anything like it. The pizzicato section from ~3:08-3:25 was amazing; my jaw dropped when I saw it. The whole performance deserved an immediate standing ovation.

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