Caprice Caprice, from the Italian ''capriccio'', may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Caprice'' (1913 film), a film starring Mary Pickford * ''Caprices'' (film), a 1942 French comedy film * ''Caprice'' (1967 film), a film starring Richard Harris ...

No. 5 is one of 24 caprices for solo violin composed by

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices f ...

in the early 19th century. The piece is known for its fast tempo and technical difficulty. Paganini is said to have been able to play it on one string, but there is no evidence to support or refute this.Paganini, Mai Kawabat. 303 pages. Boydell Press (2013).

Transcription for other instruments

The piece has been transcribed for several instruments, including saxophone, piano, cello, bassoon, accordion, and guitar. The piece is also associated with the movie ''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

'' as "Eugene's Trick Bag," which was written and performed by

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist f ...

and heavily inspired by the caprice. The first recorded true transcription of the piece appeared on Eliot Fisk's landmark recording that transcribed the entire 24 Caprices for the classical guitar.

Influence on contemporary music

Though written for the violin, the piece has also become known amongst

guitarists A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

, particularly because of its appeal to the technical proficiency of the

shred guitar Shred guitar or shredding is a virtuoso lead guitar solo playing style for the guitar, based on various advanced and complex playing techniques, particularly rapid passages and advanced performance effects. Shred guitar includes "fast alternate pi ...

genre. This can be seen from virtuoso

Jason Becker Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He was ...

's version of the piece, re-arranged for

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

(see External Links) and for

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ( ; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning ov ...

's use of Paganini inspired techniques in his music. Yngwie Malmsteen created a

guitar tab Tablature (or tabulature, or tab for short) is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering rather than musical pitches. Tablature is common for fretted stringed instruments such as the guitar, lute or vihuela, as well as many fre ...

transcription for the piece (which deviated from the original score) in an issue of ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original arti ...

'' magazine. The following are examples of the piece in modern music: * The piece inspired rapper

Busdriver Regan Farquhar (born February 12, 1978), better known by his stage name Busdriver, is an American rapper and producer from Los Angeles, California. He has collaborated with rappers such as Myka 9, Milo, Nocando, Open Mike Eagle, 2Mex, and R ...

for the intermission part of his song "Imaginary Places". * The title track of

Michael Angelo Batio Michael Angelo Batio (), also known as Michael Angelo, Mike Batio or MAB, is an American heavy metal guitarist and columnist from Chicago, Illinois. He was the lead guitarist for the Los Angeles-based glam metal band Nitro in the late 1980s an ...

's '' No Boundaries'' contains an arrangement of the piece. * Finnish

neo-classical metal Neoclassical metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is heavily influenced by classical music and usually features very technical playing,Stephan Forté, "Metal néoclassique" in ''Guitarist Magazine Pedago'', Hors Série #29, "Les secrets du ...

band Virtuocity used a variation in the song "Eye for an Eye" on their debut album ''Secret Visions''. *

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

heavy metal band

Domain Domain may refer to: Mathematics *Domain of a function, the set of input values for which the (total) function is defined ** Domain of definition of a partial function **Natural domain of a partial function **Domain of holomorphy of a function *Do ...

uses a variation in the solo for their song "Warpath" on the album ''The Sixth Dimension''. * Joe Stump uses elements of the piece in the track "Paganini's Revenge" from the album ''

Guitar Dominance ''Guitar Dominance!'' is the first studio album by guitarist Joe Stump, released in 1993 through Leviathan Records; a remastered edition was reissued in 2003.''Guitar Dominance!'' (CD edition liner notes). Critical reception Robert Taylor at A ...

''.Guitar Dominance! (CD edition liner notes). * The first notes of the composition are used in

The Faint The Faint is an American indie rock band. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska, the band consists of Todd Fink, Graham Ulicny, Dapose and Clark Baechle. The Faint was originally known as Norman Bailer and included Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes, with who ...

's album ''

Wet from Birth ''Wet from Birth'' is the fourth studio album by the American band The Faint, released on September 14, 2004. The U.S. release uses HDCD encoding, but the package is not labeled as HDCD. Track listing In popular culture *The instrumental br ...

'' at the beginning of the first track, "Desperate Guys".

References in contemporary art

Cory Arcangel Cory Arcangel (born May 25, 1978) is an American post-conceptual artist who makes work in many different media, including drawing, music, video, performance art, and video game modifications, for which he is best known. Arcangel often uses the ...

produced a mashup video, or Caprice No. 5

supercut A supercut is a genre of video editing consisting of a montage of short clips with the same theme. The theme may be an action, a scene, a word or phrase, an object, a gesture, or a cliché or trope. The technique has its roots in film and tel ...

, for his 2011 Solo show at the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...

References

External links

Violinist Nate Robinson playing Paganini's Fifth Caprice

Paganini Caprice no. 5 for violin (played with original bowing)

. {{Authority control Paganini Caprice 05 Caprice 05