STYLISTIC AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS IN VIOLIN SOLO CAPRICCIOS IN THE 20th CENTURY – KONSTANTIN G. MOSTRAS, GRAŻYNA BACEWICZ, STANLEY WEINER, AND JOAQUIN RODRIG

The history of the capriccio is relatively well studied. Based on historical documents, the term can be traced back to 1561, when in France this term was used to refer to madrigals and instrumental music, mostly for keyboard instruments of an improvisational nature. In violin literature, the genre of capriccio categorically begins with the extraordinary virtuoso discoveries of Pietro Antonio Locatelli. Today, the work of this original master is overshadowed by the fame of Paganini. Still, in the interests of justice, it is fair to admit that Paganini borrowed 90% of Locatelli’s achievements in bow technique and his discoveries are reduced only to: - Double flageolets in the left hand; - Guitar fretboard in the left hand, in which the thumb is also used to fix tones of G string; - The widespread use of the ricochet articulation in the right hand, though Locatelli contributed to this discovery.