Niccoló Paganini - the Devil's Violinist.
On May 27 1840 Italian violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini passed away. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. Already Paganini's father made his living from music. He used to play the mandolin and also taught his third son Niccolò how to master the instrument. At the age of seven, the young boy moved to the violin and immediately turned out to be successful. He earned himself several scholarships and was taken to Parma by his father in order to being taught by the famous Alessandro Rolla who sent him to his own teacher, Ferdinando Paer. At the age of 18, Paganini already worked as first violin of the Republic of Lucca and along with his incredible skills came his reputation as a womanizer and gambler. After playing at court for a while, Paganini toured through Genoa and Parma. His fame in the area was enormous, in contrast to the rest of Europe where he was unfortunately only little known. However, things changed after a concert in Milan around 1813 Paganini became well known by further leading musicians and during his tour starting in Vienna in 1828 he became famous far beyond Italy's borders. The musical genius played in Germany Poland Britain and France. In the following period however, Paganini faced serious problems concerning his health. He was reputed to have been affected by Marfan syndrome and additionally, the stress coming from the many concerts and his lifestyle took their toll. Even though he was officially cured quite fast, he had to cancel many concerts due to various health problems and it is also assumed that he suffered from a severe depression at some time. Around 1834 he retired from his career as a concert musician. He now devoted most of his lifetime to composing and publishing further works as well as teaching. Niccoló Paganini passed away on May 27 1840 and he was buried in Parma several years later. His major works were presumably created between 1805 and 1809 and they are known for being technically imaginative. The solo piece Duetto Amoroso became known as one of his most brilliant, depicting the sighs and groans of lovers on the violin It is assumed that Paganini influenced many musicians such as Franz Liszt Robert Schumann Andrew Lloyd Webber and George Rochberg. In 2013 a movie titled "The Devil's Violinist" was released starring David Garrett as Niccoló Paganini. At yovisto, you may be interested in a concert of Niccolò Paganini's Caprice No. 24. In A Minor, played by James Ehnes.