Violin Virtuoso Back

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31087, 16 June 1966, Page 11

Violin Virtuoso Back

“The greatest musical genius since Mozart” was how New York hailed the child prodigy violinist, Ruggiero Ricci, 36 years ago. Today the “New York Times” can say of this virtuoso, “The steady growth of Ricci from a merely fantastically endowed fiddler to an enkindling musical spirit is one of the great joys of today’s musical world.” Ricci, who is now an artist of international stature, making his second visit to New Zealand, will give a recital in Christchurch on Thursday. In the years since his debut as a child Ricci has given more than 2500 concerts in places as diverse as Moscow, Johannesburg, Helsinki and Bengali. Each season he is re-engaged with leading orchestras in the United States and Europe and

he now has a long and distinguished list of recordings. Ricci has been called “a second Paganini” and has been hailed as the successor to Kreisler. He plays a 1734 Joseph Guarnerius del Gesu violin and is particularly noted for the uncanny control and fine shading of his remarkable tone. The New Zealand concert pianist, Janetta McStay, will bi his accompanist during his 1966 recital tour, but Ricci will also include in his Christchurch recital a work from the solo violin repertoire. He has become more and more drawn to solo playing with the opportunities it gives for conveying a personal interpretation. As well as the Invention for solo violin by Benjamin Lees, Ricci will play sonatas by Mozart, Brahms, and Debussy and Tzigane by Ravel.