How refreshing it is to find a recording -- a good recording -- of Paganini works beyond the 24 Caprices and the concertos. This album provides listeners with a little bit of everything, from the well-known virtuosity associated with his name to more tame works designed for amateurs. The CD opens with an example of the former, In Cor Piu non mi Sento, in a version for two violins and cello. Violinist
Stefan Milenkovich, on whom most of the virtuosic responsibilities rest, does not fail to deliver on Paganini's call to stretch the range of the violin to its limits. Despite the extreme demands,
Milenkovich tosses off incredible feats of left-hand dexterity and right-arm acrobatics with unbelievable aplomb, precise intonation, and, most amazingly, pleasing sound quality throughout. The Three Duets for Violin and Cello prove that Paganini was capable of writing music for the "common" performer. Nevertheless, cellist Riccardo Agosti seems to have some trouble with matching the precise intonation of his counterpart. The remaining work on the program, Divertimenti Carnevaleschi, is a set of variations on folk dance melodies and can best be described as charming; it does not show Paganini's skills at their most dazzling, but listeners will still enjoy getting to enjoy a different side of the composer's oeuvre.