Caprice No.21 by Nicolo Paganini Flute Solo - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1667509

The 24 Caprices for Solo Violin by Niccolò Paganini were composed between 1802 and 1817, written in three groups of seven, five, and twelve pieces. These virtuosic works are catalogued as M.S. 25 in Catalogo tematico delle musiche di Niccolò Paganini, compiled by Maria Rosa Moretti and Anna Sorrento and published in 1982.

Designed as études, each caprice focuses on a different aspect of violin technique—ranging from double-stopped trills to rapid string crossings and difficult position shifts. Despite their technical demands, they remain staples of the solo violin repertoire and are admired for their musicality as much as their complexity.

The Ricordi publishing house released the Caprices in 1820 as Opus 1, organizing them into a numbered set of 24, along with Paganini’s 12 Sonatas for Violin and Guitar (Op. 2 and 3) and 6 Guitar Quartets (Op. 4 and 5). Rather than dedicate the Caprices to a single individual, Paganini inscribed them "alli artisti" ("to the artists"). However, between 1832 and 1840, he began annotating his personal score with names—perhaps in preparation for a future edition—assigning a "dedicatee" to each Caprice. These included celebrated musicians of the time such as Henri Vieuxtemps, Ole Bull, Franz Liszt, and Louis Spohr. Notably, Caprice No. 24 bears the poignant inscription: "Nicolò Paganini, sepolto pur troppo" ("to myself, regrettably buried").

The first significant posthumous edition of the Caprices was prepared by Ferdinand David and published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1854. David also collaborated with Robert Schumann to produce a version with piano accompaniments. Later, David issued another edition in two volumes of 12 Caprices each, this time with his own piano accompaniments, also published by Breitkopf & Härtel around 1860.

Unlike other collections of 24 pieces, Paganini’s Caprices were not composed with the intention of covering 24 different keys—a choice that sets them apart from works by composers such as Chopin and Bach, who followed that structural idea.

This arrangement is for solo flute.