Libon: 30 Caprices

Violinist Mario Pérez presents the first complete recording of the 30 Caprices by Felipe Libón (1775–1838). This extraordinary project, recorded at the Auditorio Manuel de Falla and produced by Paco Moya, is a brilliant example of artistic research through performance—a dialogue between past and present that brings one of Spain’s most fascinating yet overlooked violinists back into the repertoire. Libón, a student of Giovanni Battista Viotti, was born in Cádiz to a French family and became one of the most refined violinists of his generation. He was active at the courts of Lisbon, Madrid, and Paris and was admired for his elegance, precision, and expressive warmth. Libón played on a Stradivari violin and was a pioneer in the use of the modern Tourte bow. He combined the grace of the classical style with a technical brilliance that anticipated Paganini. With intellectual rigor and musical sensitivity, Mario Pérez—assistant concertmaster of the Spanish National Orchestra and member of the Trío Musicalis—brings Libón’s forgotten masterpiece back to life. He plays his Andrea Castagneri (1696–1747) violin, whose full and radiant tone transports the listener into the sound world of the early 19th century. Each of the thirty caprices focuses on a specific technical or expressive aspect, thus forming a complete and vivid compendium of violin technique and artistry. As musicologist Dr. Sofía Martínez Villar writes in her liner notes: 'This recording not only offers an extraordinary interpretation, but also allows us to rediscover a violinist of the past through a violinist of the present.'