Niccolò Paganini

The name of NICCOLÒ PAGANINI has become a synonym of a virtuoso violinist. His unusual personality and his life as a free artist perfectly match the enigmatic image of an artist of the Romantic era. The impression of his astonishing, seemingly unreal artistry gave birth to legends about the supernatural origin of his gift. Paganini received his first lessons at the age of 5 from his father, then studied with the most celebrated pedagogues of the time and from the age of 13 he started his constant concert tours. The huge success of his concert at the Scala di Milano in 1813 was followed by 40 concerts in that season alone. His fame in Europe came with a tour that began in 1828 from Vienna, through every major city in Germany, Poland, Bohemia and ended in Strasbourg in 1831, followed by a tour of France and England. But his extravagant lifestyle and a number of medical conditions often necessitated cancellations, and in 1834 Paganini ended his concert career. After two years, his adventurous idea of opening a casino in Paris led to such financial collapse that he was forced to sell off his valuable instruments. He then travelled to Marseilles and Nice, where he fell ill and died without receiving his last communion. Because of this and the rumour of his 'demonic' nature, the Church would not allow his Catholic burial in Genoa and it was only years later that Paganini found repose in the cemetery in Parma. His art strongly influenced the whole Romantic virtuoso style. Berlioz composed the symphony with solo viola Harold in Italy for Paganini; Liszt, Schumann, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Lutosławski and others wrote variations on his themes.