Ruggiero Ricci (1918 - 2012) secured his entry into the history of recorded music with the very first recording of the 24 caprices by “the devil’s violinist” Nicolo Paganini, which had been deemed unplayable until then. This was followed by decades of world fame, in which he triumphed as perhaps the greatest violin virtuoso of his time on all continents. Proof of this is provided by the ten CDs in this documentary. As a ten-year-old Ricci had made his concert debut in his native San Francisco, a year later he already stood onstage at Carnegie Hall with Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.

His parents, music-loving Italian immigrants, had enabled him to study with the famous teacher Louis Persinger. Later on he continued his education with Georg Kulenkampff in Berlin and enjoyed the support of the great Fritz Kreisler. In addition to the astonishing ease of the virtuoso, this documentation also exemplifies Ricci’s respectful handling of the great works that Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Mendelssohn and others have written for his instrument. Equally interesting is his interaction with Martha Argerich and Friedrich Gulda.

• Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin, BB 124, Sz. 117
• Bartók: Sonatina, BB 69, Sz. 55
• Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 12 No. 3
• Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor, Op. 30 No. 2
• Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 96
• Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100
• Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108
• Chopin: Nocturne No. 20 in C sharp minor, Op. post.
• Dvořák: Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53
• Elgar: La Capricieuse, Op. 17
• Hindemith: Sonata for Solo Violin, Op. 31 No. 1
• Hindemith: Sonata for Solo Violin, Op. 31 No. 2 'Es ist so schönes Wetter draussen...'
• Khachaturian: Violin Concerto in D minor
• Lalo: Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21
• Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
• Moszkowski: Guitare, Op. 45. No. 2
• Paganini: Caprices for solo violin, Op. 1 Nos. 1-24
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 1 in E major 'The Arpeggio'
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 2 in B minor
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 3 in E minor
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 4 in C minor
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 5 in A minor
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 6 in G minor
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 7 in A minor
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 8 in E flat major
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 9 in E major 'The Hunt'
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 10 in G minor
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 11 in C major
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 12 in A flat major
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 13 in B flat major
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 14 in E flat major
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 15 in E minor
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 16 in G minor
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 17 in E flat major
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 18 in C major
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 19 in E flat major
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 20 in D major
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 21 in A major
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 22 in F major
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 23 in E flat major
• Paganini: Caprice for solo violin, Op. 1 No. 24 in A minor
• Paganini: Fantasia on the G string (after Rossini's 'Mose in Egitto')
• Paganini: I Palpiti, Op. 13
• Paganini: Introduction & Variations on 'Nel cor più non mi sento' by Paisiello, MS 44
• Paganini: Le Streghe, Op. 8, MS 19
• Paganini: Moto perpetuo, Op. 11, MS 72
• Paganini: Sonata for violin & guitar in E minor, Op. 3 No. 6
• Paganini: Variations on 'God save the King', Op. 9
• Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 6
• Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 7 'La Campanella'
• Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 7: Rondo ‘La Campanella
• Prokofiev: Sonata in D major for solo violin, Op. 115
• Ravel: Tzigane
• Saint-Saëns: Havanaise, Op. 83
• Saint-Saëns: Introduction & Rondo capriccioso, Op. 28
• Sarasate: Caprice Basque, Op. 24
• Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25
• Sarasate: Danzas Españolas, Op. 21, 22, 23 & 26
• Sarasate: Introduction and Tarantella, Op. 43
• Sarasate: Jota Aragonesa, Op. 27
• Sarasate: Sérénade andalouse, Op. 28
• Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20
• Strauss, R: Violin Sonata in E flat major, Op. 18
• Suk: Four Pieces, Op. 17 for violin & piano : IV. Burleska
• Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
• Weber: Six Sonatas for Violin & Piano, Op. 10
• Wieniawski: Scherzo-Tarantelle in G minor, Op. 16