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Caprice no. 31


The fast and relentless triplets in the 31st caprice remind me of a tarantella. Recording it felt like running the 100-meter dash. I had many failed attempts at a full take. One misstep meant the take was unusable, and it feels like there are countless opportunities to trip up. 

No. 31 is technically tricky, but also has many artistic subtleties that needed to be highlighted. As usual, there are no dynamics in the score, but the music almost writes them for you. I didn't add my own below because you may have a different ideas of your own!

There is the question of the E-versus-E-flat in measures 35-36. In the "modern" Primrose edition, the E is changed to an E-flat to make it sound like a diminished chord. However, in both the original printing (which I use) and the second printing, now published by Fuzeau, no correction is made. Furthermore, Fuzeau has a reference section discussing the few possible mistakes in the printing. This particular one is never mentioned. So, I stand by my performance, and think it actually makes the piece a little more interesting. 




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