Paganini
"I have heard the angels sing" proclaimed Franz Schubert upon hearing music from Niccolo Paganini, composer of 24 violin caprices, Witch's Dance, Perpetual Motion, the orchestral Concerto in D Major, Carnival of Venice, and La Capanella. . Niccolo Paganini has been called the greatest violin player of all time. He was not only the toast of all Europe, he was a legend in his own time. His fab- ulous command of his instrument was no legend, nor was it legend that no au- dience failed to succumb to a kind of spell in the presence of his musical genius. Not only his playing but his cadaverous appearance on the stage aroused awe and terror. His pale , long face with its hollow cheeks and lips curled into a sardonic smile, the piercing expression of his eyes, fed the rumor that he was the son of the devil. The word spread that the G string of his violin was made from the intestines of a murdered mistress. Despite all of this he was worship- ed wherever he went. Women pursued him, musicians followed him from Paganini's father raised his son with cruelty a
Many violinists of Paganini's day said his music defied explanation. During this time Niccolo became addicted to gambling and women. Franz Liszt was swept off his feet and used what he heard to reinvent his writings of piano music. Niccolo purchased an Estate in Parma on his return and although in ill health, he continued to give concerts. He suffered from intense weariness and began to cough. His violins were pawned several times, and by the time he was eighteen he had nothing left except his Strativarias. He made no attempt to coordinate his ideas, his letters illuustrate a peculiar trait- shyness, and not much else, leaving olny his legacy of music and mystery. His mother added to his fervour with the frequent recital of a dream, where an angel promised her that her son would be the greatest violin player ever. His son buried him in the church adjoining their estate in Parma. He was the student of no one, there was no presedence for the effects he produced - the left hand and right hand pizzicato, the double-stop harmonics, the unheard of extensions and rapidity of shifting, the octave trills, and the solos on one or two strings. It can be said of few artist that the style reveals the man. He disappeared from the public eye at the turn of the century, and until 1804 lived with a lady of rank in Tuscany. There are hundreds of documents, including 500 of Niccolo's letters, that provide biographical material but do not help to discern his character or penetrate his thoughts since he never opened his heart fully. He spoiled the child horribly, and the boy curiously had no musical inclinations. The public became absolutley intoxicated, and his picture could be found in homes everywhere.
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