Niccolò
Paganini
(born
October 27, 1782, Genoa, republic of Genoa [Italy]—died May 27, 1840, Nice,
France) was an Italian composer and principal violin virtuoso of the 19th
century. A popular idol, he inspired the Romantic mystique of the virtuoso and
revolutionized violin technique.
This article was most
recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
After
initial study with his father, Paganini studied with a local violinist, G.
Servetto, and then with the celebrated Giacomo Costa. He made his first
appearance in 1793 and then studied with Alessandro Rolla and Gaspare Ghiretti
at Parma. In 1797, accompanied by his father, he toured Lombardy, where with
each concert his reputation grew. Gaining his independence soon after, he
indulged excessively in gambling and romantic love affairs. At one point he
pawned his violin because of gambling debts; a French merchant lent him a
Guarneri violin to play a concert and, after hearing him, gave him the
instrument.
Between
1801 and 1807 he wrote the 24 Capricci for unaccompanied violin, displaying the
novel features of his technique, and the two sets of six sonatas for violin and
guitar. He reappeared in Italy as a violinist in 1805 and was appointed
director of music at Piombino by Napoleon’s sister, Élisa Bonaparte Baciocchi.
He later gave recitals of his own compositions in many towns in Italy and about
1824 formed his long attachment with the singer Antonia Bianchi.
Quick
Facts
Born:
October 27, 1782, Genoa, republic of Genoa [Italy]
Died: May
27, 1840, Nice, France (aged 57)
Notable
Works: “La campanella”
Niccolò
Paganini (born October 27, 1782, Genoa, republic of Genoa [Italy]—died May 27,
1840, Nice, France) was an Italian composer and principal violin virtuoso of
the 19th century. A popular idol, he inspired the Romantic mystique of the
virtuoso and revolutionized violin technique.
After
initial study with his father, Paganini studied with a local violinist, G.
Servetto, and then with the celebrated Giacomo Costa. He made his first
appearance in 1793 and then studied with Alessandro Rolla and Gaspare Ghiretti
at Parma. In 1797, accompanied by his father, he toured Lombardy, where with
each concert his reputation grew. Gaining his independence soon after, he
indulged excessively in gambling and romantic love affairs. At one point he
pawned his violin because of gambling debts; a French merchant lent him a
Guarneri violin to play a concert and, after hearing him, gave him the
instrument.
Between
1801 and 1807 he wrote the 24 Capricci for unaccompanied violin, displaying the
novel features of his technique, and the two sets of six sonatas for violin and
guitar. He reappeared in Italy as a violinist in 1805 and was appointed
director of music at Piombino by Napoleon’s sister, Élisa Bonaparte Baciocchi.
He later gave recitals of his own compositions in many towns in Italy and about
1824 formed his long attachment with the singer Antonia Bianchi.
In 1828
Paganini experienced great success in Vienna, and his appearances in Paris and
London in 1831 were equally sensational. His tour of England and Scotland in
1832 made him a wealthy man. In 1833 he settled in Paris, where he commissioned
Hector Berlioz to write his symphony Harold en Italie. Paganini thought that
the challenge of its viola solo was too slight, however, and he never played
it. Following the failure of the Casino Paganini, a gambling house in which he
had invested, he went to Marseille in 1839, then to Nice.
Paganini’s
romantic personality and adventures created in his own day the legend of a
Mephistophelean figure. Stories circulated that he was in league with the devil
and that he had been imprisoned for murder; his burial in consecrated ground
was delayed for five years. He was long regarded as a miser, but a more
accurate portrait would consider his desire to be free from a train of
dependent followers and their importunities for his largesse. His gift of
20,000 francs to the struggling composer Berlioz was an act of generosity
seemingly uncharacteristic; possibly Paganini, recognizing in “Beethoven’s
successor” a worthy talent, thought it was his duty to come to the composer’s
aid.
His
violin technique, based on that of his works, principally the Capricci, the
violin concertos, and the sets of variations, demanded a wide use of harmonics
and pizzicato effects, new methods of fingering and even of tuning. In performance
he improvised brilliantly. He was also a flamboyant showman who used trick
effects such as severing one or two violin strings and continuing the piece on
the remaining strings. His technical innovations were imitated by later
virtuosi, notably Pablo Sarasate and Eugène Ysaÿe. His other works include 6
violin concertos, of which the first, in D major, is especially popular; 12
sonatas for violin and guitar; and 6 quartets for violin, viola, cello, and
guitar. The influence of his virtuosity extended to orchestral as well as to
piano music. His influence on Franz Liszt was immense. Themes from the Capricci
inspired works by Liszt, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Sergey
Rachmaninoff.
With
affection,
Ruben
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