Hyperion Records

Guiraud’s Caprice was written in 1884 and dedicated ‘to my friend Sarasate’. It was meant to follow in the footsteps of Saint-Saëns’s Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, or at least that must have been the idea. Unfortunately, even though Sarasate performed the work, and it was published soon after, Guiraud’s music, which was mostly operatic, fell slowly into oblivion after his death. The musical world was changing, and the Caprice failed to find its place in the repertoires of the next generation of violinists.

from notes by Philippe Graffin © 2002