Performer: Ruggiero Ricci, violin - Martha Argerich, piano - New Symphony Orchestra - Malcolm Sargent, conductor The history of musical performance is full of musicians who, after being appreciated in their youth, as adults never managed to repeat the achievements of their childhood and adolescence. Ruggiero Ricci, too, was of course a child prodigy: but then he was also an adolescent prodigy, a young prodigy, an adult prodigy. And now, fully eighty-three years old, he can safely be defined as an elderly gentleman prodigy, a man who astonishes all those who hear him not only with his mastery of technique, which is still stunning despite the passing of years, but also through his still lively, almost disturbing desire to discover something new and to take on increasingly demanding violin challenges.This 10-CD box set traces the most significant stages in Ricci"s career: his first recordings from the 1930s, his outstanding late 1940s performance of Paganini"s 24 Caprices, his beautiful recital with Martha Argerich in 1979, his recent recordings on Dynamic.CD 1: The early recordings (1938-40)Bach: Sonata No. 1 for solo violin)Mattheson: Aria in B minor)Paganini: Mosè Variations, La Campanella)Sarasate: Introduction and Tarantella, Habanera, Zigeunerweisen)Ysaÿe: Rêve d"enfantCD 2: Ricci in the 1940s and 1950s)Tchaikovsky: Concerto in D Major Op. 35 (New Symphony Orchestra - Malcolm Sargent, direttore)Ysaÿe: Sonata No. 4 Wieniawski: Capriccio in A minor, Staccato EtudeChopin, Notturno in C-sharp minor)CD 3: Ricci and Paganini (1)Paganini: 24 Capricci (1949 recording))CD 4: Ricci and the classical repertoire)Beethoven: Sonata No. 5 in F Major "The Spring", Sonata )No. 9 in A Major "Kreutzer")Debussy: Sonata for violin and pianoCD 5: Tartini and Paganini Variations)