Niccolò Paganini

A crazy violinist who sold his soul to devil for exchanged a virtuosic play. But this devil, his music inspired a lot of people.

Who is Paganini

Niccolò Paganini was born in Genoa, Italy, on October 27, 1782, the third of six children born to Teresa and Antonio Paganini. Paganini's father was in the shipping business, but he also played the mandolin and began teaching his son the violin at an early age. Paganini's mother had high hopes of her son becoming a famous violist.

By 1801, Paganini, who was used to touring with his father by this time, went to Lucca to perform at the Festival of Santa Croce. His appearance was a rousing success, endearing himself to the town.

But he had a weakness for gambling, womanizing and alcohol, reportedly having a breakdown early in his career due to the latter. Post recovery he returned to Lucca, earning the favor of Napoleon's sister, Princess Elisa Baciocchi, and securing the position of court violinist.

His violin technique, based on that of his works, principally the Capricci, the violin concertos, and the sets of variations, demanded a wide use of harmonics and pizzicato effects, new methods of fingering and even of tuning. In performance he improvised brilliantly. He was also a flamboyant showman who used trick effects such as severing one or two violin strings and continuing the piece on the remaining strings.

His technical innovations were imitated by later virtuosi, notably Pablo Sarasate and Eugène Ysaÿe. His other works include 6 violin concertos, of which the first, in D major, is especially popular; 12 sonatas for violin and guitar; and 6 quartets for violin, viola, cello, and guitar. The influence of his virtuosity extended to orchestral as well as to piano music. His influence on Franz Liszt was immense. Themes from the Capricci inspired works by Liszt, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Sergey Rachmaninoff.

Caprice No.13

starts out with scale-like double-stopped passages at a moderate speed. The second part consists of high speed runs that exercise left hand flexibility and position shifting, and right hand high speed string changing and detache bowing. The piece then repeats back to the beginning and ends right before reaching the second part for the second time.

Let's listen the piece from Perlman

Cantabile

The well-known Cantabile in D major, like a great deal of the music found in the Genoa collection, seems to have been composed not for public use but rather for the private enjoyment of Paganini and his circle. Here we find the composer's virtuoso fireworks tamed, his bag of tricks closed. Far removed from the pyrotechnic Caprices, the Cantabile is instead a gorgeous Italian vocalise. In a rare instance among his chamber works, Paganini passes over his favorite accompanimental instrument, the guitar (upon which he was also a virtuoso), in favor of the piano.

The Cantabile is a perfect example of three-part song form. In the opening bars of the violin melody, which begins without accompaniment, Paganini immediately betrays his indebtedness to two somewhat related influences: Italian opera and the decorative arabesque style of instrumental writing characteristic of the piano music of Chopin. A second section, in A major, follows in much the same manner as the first, climaxing in a three-measure cadential pattern whose elegant but fevered ornamentation spans nearly the entire range of the violin. As the music of the opening is reprised in the third and final section, Paganini allows the melody to unfold an octave lower than before. A wild virtuosic flourish the only one of its kind in the piece dissolves into the tender coda, which eventually sums up the work in two gentle pizzicati.

In the comparatively few compositions written by Paganini primarily for his own diversion rather than for purposes of public performance, the composer generally appoints the accompanying part to the guitar which, as is well known, was the violinists other favorite instrument, mastered by him with no lesser degree of skill than the violin. Among the vast number of manuscripts discovered after Paganini's death and now in the possession of Wilhelm Heyer's Museum of Musical Histories in Cologne, there was found only one piece originally written for Violin and Piano. This was the Cantabile in D major, allegedly composed for a special occasion, and now published for the first time. It is a comparatively easy piece combining melodic charm with absolute fidelity to the form and, though thoroughly instrumental in character, still possesses the graceful line peculiar to the operatic cavatinas of its time. It awakens memories of Bellini and other composers of that period.

Let's listen the piece from Joshua Bell

Paganini "An Inspirational Violinist"

Many people thought Paganini stood out as a virtuoso like Liszt but I named him “Inspirational” because he was not just a virtuoso but a revolutionary figure as a performer. Paganini inspired many composer-performers, such as Liszt, who often borrowed themes from Paganini’s music as a basis for his own compositions. As for his playing, his crazy style changed violin performance practice forever. It might be a gift or curse, it can almost seem funny but he often a simple theme can suddenly transform into a difficult piece. Learning his music can cause nightmares, we often see people are afraid when they hear this name. But everything must have two sides, and even Paganini’s music has a gentle and lyrical side, which may be part of the reason for the widespread appeal of his music.