Niccolò Paganini (part II)

Apart from his supposed relationship with the Satan, the violinist was frequently accused of greed. The money he earned with his concerts made him a very rich man and enabled him to buy a Villa in 1834 near Parma (the Villa Gajona). But, despite the talk about his greed, he showed more than one proof of generosity, such as the 20,000-franc gift he offered to the French composer Hector Berlioz.

Paganini’s private life was also quite interesting. Having a relationship with many women, one of whom supposedly was the Princess Elisa from the court of Lucca, he was never married. At around 1815 he met a chorus singer Antonia Bianchi; they spent about thirteen years together and she gave him his only child, Achille. They got separated in 1828 and Paganini had to pay her considerable sums of money to be allowed to stay with his son, whom he loved very deeply. Later he told Achille that his mother had “sold him”.  

 But, no matter how intriguing all those rumours and gossips were during the musician’s lifetime and can still be now, what made Paganini so unique was definitely his music. He composed over one hundred works, among which we can find six concerts, quartets, serenatas and, of course, his famous 24 Capricci, written as violin studies. It was and still is often said, however, that Paganini the violin virtuoso greatly surpassed Paganini the composer. Personally, I do not share this opinion: his music displays great originality and possess a very dark and tender quality, which makes it instantly recognizable and different from everything ever written before or after him. 

 Talking about Paganini as violin virtuoso, his innovations were very impressive. Not only could he play the instrument at incredible speed, he also employed new techniques, such as pizzicato with both hands, unusual fingering techniques or playing a composition using only one string. There had been many talks about the last one, and some people implied that the violinist himself could have cut the other three strings in order to impress the public, which is, of course, quite possible. It is also possible, however, that those strings, which were made of catgut (animal intestines), were broken by the sheer force of the bow.

The atmosphere of Paganini’s concerts is difficult to describe and can be compared to performances given by popular pop stars nowadays. In fact, one of Paganini’s biographers, Maria Tibaldi-Chiesa, considered that he had been the first artist to become so widely popular that he attracted thousands of people, who could be now described as his fans. His incredible playing, his stage presence and his mysterious personality also made him very attractive to many women, some of whom reportedly fainted during his concerts. 

It is impossible to talk about Paganini without mentioning his violin. Attracted to gambling from a young age, the musician lost one of his violins paying his debts. At around 1802 he was donated a 1742 Guarneri violin, which stayed with him until his death. Paganini treated his Guarneri as though it were alive, and while he was playing the instrument, it appeared that it was actually attached to his arm. Though the violin was Paganini’s main instrument, he also played guitar and viola.

In the 20^th and 21^st centuries Paganini’s figure has continued to arouse interest and there were several films dedicated to his life, such as the miniseries Niccolò Paganini, directed by Leonid Menaker in 1982, or the film The Devil’s Violinist, directed by Bernard Rose, which is now in a post-production stage.  There are also numerous biographies about Paganini, as well as fictional stories based on his life. 

It is not always easy to separate Paganini’s real life from the legends created during his lifetime or after his death, and, with a life as complex as his, some exaggerations are inevitable. It is difficult therefore to determine what arouses more interest nowadays, rumours surrounding his incredible figure or his unique music. What is certain, however, is that the memory of the violinist and the composer from Genoa is still alive and will surely be in the years to come.

   

Material used:

Stratton, Stephen Samuel (1907), ‘Nicolo Paganini. His Life and Work’, E. Shore and Co., London.

Тибальди-Кьеза, Мария (1981), "Паганини", изд. Молодая Гвардия, ЖЗЛ (Tibaldi-Chiesa, Maria, ‘Paganini’).

Neill, Edward (1995), ‘The history of Nicolò Paganini’s violin’ (pp. 13-32), ‘Paganini’s violin. Its history, sound and photographs’, Edizioni Dynamic, Genoa, Italy.

Neill, Edward (1995), ‘Chronology of Paganini’s life’ (pp. 33-42), ‘Paganini’s violin. Its history, sound and photographs’, Edizioni Dynamic, Genoa, Italy.

Berlioz, Hector (2008), ‘Mémoires’, EBook, www.gutenberg.org.

Earls, Jason, ‘Nicolo Paganini. The World’s Greatest Violinist’, http://www.lifeinitaly.com/music/niccolo-paganini.asp, accessed on May 20^th, 2013.