Niccolò Paganini

Niccolò Paganini was a superstar. The violinist and composer was rapturously acclaimed everywhere he went, with greats such as Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin and Robert Schumann modelling themselves on him. He primarily wrote his works to perform himself rather than for publication. Nevertheless, his music spread throughout Europe – through transcriptions, variations and arrangements. Newspapers reported on his private life, there were clothes and recipes à la Paganini, and his portrait adorned clocks, plates and powder compacts. He wrote a total of six violin concertos: works whose breathtaking effects bear witness to his seemingly limitless technical abilities.

Niccolò Paganini, born in Genoa in 1782, began performing publicly as an 11-year-old prodigy after receiving early lessons, which his father vigorously encouraged. While he was largely self-taught in the finer points of his playing, he learned the basics of composition in Parma around 1795, studying under opera composer Ferdinando Paër, among others. Between 1805 and 1809, Paganini had his only permanent position as concertmaster, chamber virtuoso and opera director of the orchestra of the Republic of Lucca. During this time, he composed numerous works for violin, both with orchestral and guitar accompaniment. The virtuoso then enjoyed a meteoric career: he performed throughout Italy and was accepted as an honorary member of the most important philharmonic academies of his time. In 1820, his 24 Capricci were published, which – now considered the embodiment of virtuosity in the early 19th century – also became influential in violin training. In 1828, he gave acclaimed concerts in Vienna, followed by tours through Bohemia and Germany and spectacular performances in Paris. After more than 150 concerts in England, Scotland and Ireland, Paganini reached the pinnacle of his fame. He was viewed with astonishment and called the “devil’s violinist” – partly because of his appearance. In the words of Heinrich Heine, Paganini seemed to have “risen from the underworld”. Paganini suffered from various illnesses, including tuberculosis of the larynx, which robbed him of his voice in the last years of his life. Paganini died in Nice at the age of 57 and was initially denied a church funeral – only after a decades-long odyssey did his body find its final resting place in Parma. Paganini’s extraordinary finger work is now the subject of medical research. One theory suggests that the violinist may have suffered from Marfan syndrome, a hereditary disease that causes extreme flexibility in the hands, which was unknown at the time. However, DNA analyses have not been able to confirm this.

Concerts