Niccolò Paganini - Violin Concerto No. 1 (Joshua Bell)

Information

Composer: Niccolò Paganini

• Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 6 (original cadenza by Joshua Bell)
• Cantabile in D Major
• The Carnival of Venice

Joshua Bell, violin

Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Simon Mulligan, piano / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Nigel Hess, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: Sony Classical

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GRAMMY Award winner and honorary CBE Joshua Bell has released PAGANINI on Sony Classical alongside the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, marking his 15th season as Music Director. The digital-only release highlights Paganini’s formidable Violin Concerto No. 1 featuring a new original cadenza by Bell, James Stephenson's chamber arrangement of Cantabile, and a bonus track of Carnival of Venice. Decades after first tackling the concerto at age 13, Bell approaches the work as a richly dramatic masterpiece rather than a mere virtuoso showpiece. Directed by Bell from the violin, the recording captures a thrilling blend of spontaneous expression and technical brilliance.

Born in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1967, American violinist Joshua Bell began studying under renowned pedagogue Josef Gingold before making his debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra at age fourteen. One of the most acclaimed musicians of his generation, Bell has achieved broad crossover success, earned a Grammy Award, and received the Avery Fisher Prize. In 2011, he was appointed Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, leading the ensemble in chart-topping recordings. Renowned for his versatility across concert halls, film soundtracks, and popular media, Bell also famously inspired a Pulitzer Prize-winning story after performing incognito in a Washington, D.C. subway station.