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Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (October 27, 1782 – May 27, 1840) was
an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He is one of the most
famous violin virtuosi, and is considered one of the greatest violinists who ever
lived, with perfect intonation and innovative techniques. Although nineteenth
century Europe had seen several extraordinary violinists, Paganini was the
preeminent violin virtuoso of that century—it was rumored by his contemporaries
that he had sold his soul to the devil for his unbelievable ability.
 Life
Niccolò Paganini was born in Genoa, Italy, on 27 October 1782, to Antonio and
Teresa, née Bocciardo, Paganini. Paganini first learned to play the mandolin from
his father at the age of five, moved to the violin by the age of seven, and began
composing before he turned eight. He gave his first public concert at the age of
12. In his early teens he studied under various teachers, including Giovanni
Servetto and Alessandro Rolla, but he could not cope well with his success; and at
the age of 16 he was gambling and drinking. His career was saved by an unknown
lady, who took him to her estate where he recovered and studied the violin for
three years. He also played the guitar during this time.
He reappeared when he was 23, becoming director of music to Napoleon's sister Elisa
Baciocchi, Princess of Lucca, when he wasn't touring. He soon became a legend for
his unparalleled mastery of the violin, with debuts in Milan in 1813, Vienna 1828,
and both London and Paris in 1831. Paganini was one of the first musicians, if not
the first, to tour as a solo artist, without supporting musicians. He became one of
the first superstars of public concertizing. He made a fortune as a touring
musician, and was uncanny in his ability to charm an audience.
Paganini's signature violin, Il Cannone fabricated in 1742 by Giuseppe Antonio
Guarnieri del Gesù, was his favourite. He named it "The Cannon" because of the
powerful and explosive resonance he was able to produce from it. Its strings are
nearly on the same plane, as opposed to most violins, the strings of which are
distinctly arched to prevent accidentally bowing extra strings. The stringing of Il
Cannone may have allowed Paganini to play on three or even four strings at once. Il
Cannone is now in the hands of the of the City of Genoa, where it is exhibited in
the town hall. It is taken out and played by its curator once monthly, and
periodically loaned out to virtuosi of today.
In Paris in 1833, he commissioned a viola concerto from Hector Berlioz, who
produced Harold in Italy for him, but Paganini never played it.
His health deteriorated due to mercury poisoning by the mercury compound used
regularly. The disease caused him to lose the ability to play violin, and he
retired in ca.1834. He died of throat cancer in Nice on 27 May, 1840.
He left behind a series of sonatas, caprices, six violin concerti, string quartets,
and numerous guitar works.
The orchestral parts of Paganini's works are polite, unadventurous in scoring, and
supportive. Critics of Paganini find his concerti long-winded and formulaic: one
fast rondo finale could often be switched for another. During his public career,
the violin parts of the concertos were kept secret. Paganini would rehearse his
orchestra without ever playing the full violin solos. At his death, only two had
been published. Paganini's heirs have cannily released his concertos one at a time,
each given their second debut, over many years, at well-spaced intervals. There are
now six published Paganini violin concerti (although the last two are missing their
orchestral parts). His more intimate compositions for guitar and string
instruments, particularly the violin, have yet to become part of the standard
repertoire.
Paganini developed the genre of concert variations for solo violin,
characteristically taking a simple, apparently naïve theme, and alternating lyrical
variations with a ruminative, improvisatory character that depended for effect on
the warmth of his phrasing, with bravura extravagances that left his audiences
gasping.
Paganini and the
evolution of violin technique
The Israeli violinist Ivry Gitlis said in Bruno Monsaiegnon's film, The Art of
Violin, "Paganini is not a development ... there were all these and then there was
Paganini." Though some of these violinistic techniques employed by Paganini were
already present, most accomplished violinists of the time focused on intonation and
bowing techniques (the so-called right-hand techniques for string players), the two
issues that are most fundamental for violinists even in the present day.
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) was considered the father of violin technique,
transforming the role of the violin from a continuo instrument to a solo
instrument. At around the same period, the Sonaten und Partiten for solo violin
(BWV 1001-1006) of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) firmly established the
polyphonic capability of the violin. Other notable violinists included Antonio
Vivaldi (1678-1741) and Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770). Although the role of the
violin in music has been drastically changed through this period, progress on
violin technique was slow up to this point.
The first exhaustive exploration of violin technique was found in the 24 caprices
of Pietro Locatelli (1693-1746), which at the time of writing, proved to be too
difficult to play, although they are now quite playable. Rudimentary usage of
harmonics and left hand pizzicato could be found in the works of August Durand, who
allegedly invented these techniques. Whilst it was questionable whether Paganini
pioneered many of these "violinistic" techniques that made him famous, it was
certain that he was the one popularized them and brought them into regular
compositions.
Paganini was capable of playing three octaves across four strings in a hand span, a
seemingly impossible feat even by today's standards. His flexibility and
exceptionally long fingers may have been a result of Marfan syndrome or
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. His fingering techniques included double-stops, parallel
octaves (and tenths), and left-hand pizzicato, which are now routine exercises for
aspiring violinists. Such leaps in the violin technique development were only
paralleled by the likes of Josef Joachim, and Eugène Ysaÿe, almost half a century
later.
Influence on
music and composition
The writing of violin music was also dramatically changed through Paganini. Even in
his youth, he was able to imitate other sounds (such as horn, flute, birds) with
his violin. Though highly colourful and technically imaginative, Paganini's
composition was not considered truly polyphonic. Eugène Ysaÿe once criticised that
the accompaniment to Paganini's music was too "guitar like", lacking any character
of polyphonism. Nevertheless, he expanded the timbre of the instrument to levels
previously unknown.
Paganini was also the inspiration of many prominent composers. Both "La Campanella"
and the A minor caprice (Nr. 24) have been an object of interest for a number of
composers. Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Boris Blacher, Andrew
Lloyd Webber, George Rochberg and Witold Lutosławski, amongst others, wrote
well-known variations on its theme.
In performance Paganini enjoyed playing tricks, like tuning one of his strings a
semitone high, or playing the majority of a piece on one string after breaking the
other three. He astounded audiences with techniques that included harmonics, double
stops, pizzicato with the left as well as the right hand, and near-impossible
fingerings and bowings.
Fictional
portrayals
Paganini's life inspired several films and television series. Most famously, in a
highly acclaimed Soviet 1982 miniseries Niccolo Paganini the musician is portrayed
by the Armenian stage master Vladimir Msryan. The series focuses on Paganini's
persecution by the Roman Catholic Church. Another Soviet cinematic legend, Armen
Dzhigarkhanyan plays Paganini's fictionalized arch-rival, an insidious Jesuit
official. The information in the series was generally accurate, however it also
played to some of the myths and legends rampant during the musician's lifetime. In
particular, a memorable scene shows Paganini's adversaries sabotaging his violin
before a high-profile performance, causing all strings but one to break during the
concert. An undeterred Paganini continues to perform on three, two, and finally on
a single string.
In 1989 German actor Klaus Kinski portrayed Paganini in the film Kinski
Paganini.
Source : Some of the information on
this page came from a Wikipedia article and is licensed under the GNU
Documentation License. ©2008 www.geneticmatrix.com.
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Niccolo
Paganini - Projector - Biography
