What is the key of Paganini’s First Concerto? Nowadays it’s invariably played in D, but Paganini wrote the orchestral parts in E flat and tuned his violin up a semitone so that it became a transposing instrument, fingered in the more violinistic D major but sounding in the higher key. Now, for the first time in my experience, the Concerto appears at its original pitch. And in its original orchestration, too, without the extra brass and percussion parts added later.
The more classical orchestration and the richer sonorities of the unfamiliar key – emphasised by admirably full recorded sound – give the Concerto a more warmly expressive aspect than usual. But the brilliance of the violin-writing is just as breathtaking as ever, and Massimo Quarta is a real virtuoso, tossing off all the difficult passages boldly, nonchalantly and with an impressive degree of polish and accuracy. The Second Concerto fares equally well, with Quarta and the Genoa orchestra again emphasising its classical qualities. It’s good to hear an orchestra from Paganini’s native city playing his music with such spirit and finesse. With Quarta directing from the violin – another authentic touch – there are a few minor problems of ensemble, but there are advantages, too: the duetting of solo violin and bell in No 2’s finale has a delightful feeling of spontaneous dialogue. I was less enthusiastic about the traditional big tempo changes in No 1’s first movement, and about Quarta’s intense vibrato, covering much of the cantabile music, but this is still a very recommendable disc, a promising start to a proposed set of the six Paganini concertos.'