The Violin Concerto no. 1, Op. 6, was composed by Paganini between 1817 and 1818, revealing that Paganini's technical wizardry was fully developed by this point. He originally intended the piece to be heard in the key of E flat major, the orchestral parts were written in that key, with the solo violin written in D with an instruction for a half-tone scordatura. That way, not only the soloist would be able to achieve effects impossible in Eb, but also the key would muffle a little the sound of the orchestra (by means of not having open strings sounding), making the soloist emerge. A version was later published with the parts in D major, presumably done to accomodate a rendition without the requirement of scordatura. This form became the most popular (it is worthy of note that many editions did not provide the solo part, as Paganini was famously secretive with his parts in order to avoid the possibility of other people copying his 'tricks' or performing his works). 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.
