A pupil of G.B. Viotti and later a soloist at the court ofNapoleon, French violinist-composer Pierre Rode made several lastingcontributions to violin pedagogy and repertoire. These 24Caprices, aimed at encouraging the player’s facility over the wholeinstrument, are still studied today; several contemporary violinists have evenrecorded them. Rode also composed anumber of violin concertos inspired by those of Viotti, but only a few are stillperformed with any frequency.