Violin Concerto No. 1 (Paganini)

Scholar and musicologist Leslie Howard (known for his work on Paganini's contemporary Franz Liszt) arranged an edition of the concerto in the key of E-flat, with reference both to Paganini's manuscript and the first edition.

[citation needed] Paganini's original published scoring was for 1 flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 1 bassoon, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 1 trombone, and strings.

In the years following the original publication of the work, Paganini occasionally expanded his orchestration, writing out some odd parts to add from time to time in performance: 2nd flute, contrabassoon, doubled the horns, added trombones 1 & 2 (moving the existing trombone part to trombone 3 basso), timpani, and banda turca (bass drum, crash cymbals, and suspended cymbal).

The concerto shows the great influence of the Italian bel canto style, and especially on Paganini's younger contemporary Gioachino Rossini.

[3] The later addition of instruments from a military band give this orchestration a distinct aggressive and militaristic sound.