It’s hard to imagine any better recordings of Paganini than those of Italian violinist Salvatore Accardo (b. 1941). Accardo was the winner of the 1958 Paganini Competition. His playing not only demonstrates technical mastery of Paganini, it sparkles with the effortless and fun-loving spirit of Italian opera. You can hear this in his performance of the First Violin Concerto.
Listen to his recording of the Twenty-Four Caprices here and here .
Here is a 1972 video of Nel cor più non mi sento:
Here is a 2008 clip of Accardo playing La Campanella on Paganini’s 1743 “Cannon” Guarneri del Gesù violin.
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I witnessed maestro Accardo playing the E minor concerto live in the mid 1970s. His tone has remained instantly recognizable to me ever since.