The unicorn, sent to humanity by an angel, suffered from rumors that it was controlled by a demon. Its “superhuman” interaction with the instrument led detractors to search for “black wings” behind its back. The “vampire” from Black Cat Street could perform harmonies of incredible complexity, drawing unusual sounds from the violin and playing pieces on a single string. Witnesses of his playing claimed that the only thing connecting him to other violinists was the violin and bow.
The Genoese Freak
The dramatic life story of the legendary violinist and composer from the first half of the 19th century was brought to life in the biographical film “Paganini: The Devil’s Violinist,” where the celebrated predecessor was portrayed by modern virtuoso and heartthrob David Garrett. However, the true appearance of Paganini was described with the words “Genoese freak.” Due to a rare congenital condition (Marfan syndrome, which also affected Hans Christian Andersen, Abraham Lincoln, and Charles de Gaulle), the famous Italian had elongated limbs and soft connective tissues. The musician became the subject of caricatures, depicted with a devilishly curved figure, an unnaturally twisted neck, and a left hand.
According to Dr. Francesco Benatti, one of Paganini’s hands appeared significantly longer than the other, with a shoulder misalignment reaching 15 centimeters: the left shoulder was a full six inches higher than the right. The doctor also noted the unusual stretching of the ligaments between the forearm, wrist, hand, and finger phalanges. “The length of a normally sized limb could be doubled by stretching all parts,” the doctor testified. “The phalanges that touched the strings transmitted flexible movements with surprising speed and precision, allowing the fingers to move easily in the direction opposite their natural bend without shifting the wrist.”
A Cruel Joke
The resemblance between the violinist and the devil, combined with the fiery energy of the performer and the mystery of his personality, gave rise to rumors that “a red-horned creature with a tail stands behind the musician and guides his hand with the bow.” People attended Paganini’s concerts hoping to catch a glimpse of the figure the gossip spoke of. The enigmatic Paganini did not deny the myths and acted like a savvy businessman, a master of black publicity by today’s standards. He converted public interest into ringing coins. For instance, Paganini’s performances in Vienna garnered 28,000 crowns, while parallel concerts by Schubert earned a mere 800.
The association with unclean forces haunted the musician after his death. Bishop Domenico Galvani of Nice declared the deceased a heretic and imposed a ban on his burial in consecrated ground. Among the Italian cities that refused to accept the “vampire” in their cemeteries was even the musician’s hometown, Genoa—a city to which the genius bequeathed his beloved violin (“the widow of Paganini”). It took another lifetime for the remains of the great violinist to be laid to rest properly: Paganini’s body found its way to a normal cemetery only 56 years after his death at the age of 58.
No Lessons to Teach
Indeed, could a “pagan” (the surname Paganini derives from this word—paganus) born in a Catholic city on Black Cat Street (the Genoese address Pasco di Gatta Mora translates to this) ever be happy? Niccolò was the third son of Antonio Paganini and Teresa Boccardo, who had six children. An angel appeared to her in a dream the night before giving birth (a heavenly sign of a significant event). Biographers wrote that on October 27, 1782, “a freak was born on Black Cat Street.” When his father, a porter, opened his own shop, he referred to himself in the city census as “the owner of mandolins.” The child reached for the strings of the mandolin at the age of five and mastered the violin by six. From childhood, he honed his playing, inventing new ways to extract sounds that would astonish listeners.
By the age of 11, Niccolò regularly played at church services, where not only sacred music was performed. At 13, the young musician gathered an audience for his first public concert—a so-called academy, where he included his piece “Variations on the Theme of Carmagnola.” The proceeds from the performance at the Teatro Sant’Agostino, as well as subsequent earnings from Florentine concerts, were intended for his studies in Parma under Alessandro Rolla. However, the renowned mentor, like other failed teachers, upon hearing the gifted boy play, refused to take him on as a student, claiming he had nothing left to teach.
Demonic Techniques
The cellist Gaspare Giretti agreed to teach harmony and counterpoint, under whom the student composed 24 four-part fugues using only a pen and ink. Perhaps the foreign instrument influenced Paganini’s “ability” to make the violin cry, laugh, produce bird trills, bark, and chirp. No one understood how an ordinary violin could imitate birdsong, the sound of a flute, horn, or trumpet. The strange array of sounds emanating from the church during Paganini’s performances drew the attention of the holy fathers, who remarked that such harmonies had no place near the altar. Paganini astonished the world with his incredible staccato, pizzicato, double trills, harmonics, dynamic transitions, and dissonant chords.
In search of the secret behind Paganini’s unusual gift, experts examined his violin inside and out. Throughout his life, the musician owned several instruments crafted by old masters—he gifted his treasures to colleagues and even adversaries, but he could not bear to part with his most precious violin, bequeathing it to his hometown: it remains in a museum to this day.
An 1885 examination revealed significant wear on the instrument made by Guarneri in areas that came into contact with the musician’s body, indicating the force of his strokes on the strings and the strength required to hold the top during rapid passages: this explains the worn edges at the bends of the instrument, a large spot near the neck, and a long groove. The deformation of the violin speaks to the effort expended and the colossal tension experienced by the exhausted musician after performances, who was characterized by a constant pallor (people with Marfan syndrome often die from aortic rupture).
Portrait of Paganini, by E. Delacroix
The Genoese Jacobin
After the cessation of parental care in 1801, the free-thinking musician, whom the press dubbed the “Genoese Jacobin,” took the position of “first violin” in the city-republic of Lucca. Here, Paganini taught and worked with the orchestra musicians. This period is also associated with his mysterious romantic involvement: in a Tuscan estate, the musician secluded himself with a well-known lady, whose name he kept secret for his entire life. The depth of feeling of the astrological Scorpio was marked by a passionate nature, a thirst for the unknown, independence in decision-making, willpower, and the ability to keep secrets. He spent three years in isolation with the unknown woman, playing the guitar (during this time, he wrote 12 sonatas for guitar and violin).
Having been drawn to women and gambling in his youth, the musician could lose everything and eventually realized that only his own art could save him. Obsessed with his passions, Paganini managed to conquer his demons: he gave up gambling once and for all, never touching cards again.
Court Virtuoso
Princess Piombino Elisa Bonaparte bestowed upon Paganini the title of “court virtuoso” and appointed him captain of her personal guard. During his romance with Napoleon’s sister, the violinist composed the piece “Love Scene” for two strings (A and E), and for the emperor’s birthday, he wrote a sonata for one string (G). Only Paganini could perform concerts on three, two, and even one string. Broken strings and mistakes in the orchestra’s tonality posed no problems for him. The musical director of another princess (from the Turin court, Pauline Bonaparte), Borghese Felice Blangi, became an ardent admirer of Paganini, referring to him as a “superhuman performer.”
Once, Paganini failed to check the tuning of his violin before a performance and only discovered during the play that the note “A” on his instrument was a whole tone different from the piano’s tonality. The virtuoso instantly adapted his fingering during the performance, and the audience noticed nothing unusual in his rendition of the “Sonata.” This was a successful experience that enhanced Paganini’s fame, but the court service weighed heavily on the “free thinker,” and he left it for foreign tours.
To God – Through Witches
On the eve of the European holiday Halloween, October 29, 1813, Paganini premiered his own variation of the “Dance of the Witches” from the ballet “The Nutcracker of Benevento”—a work titled “The Witches”—at a solo concert in La Scala. One of the most famous masterpieces in his oeuvre shocked the Milanese audience, who listened to eleven of Paganini’s concerts at La Scala and the Carcano Theater over six weeks.
The rapid popularity following performances in Leipzig allowed the maestro to purchase a baronial title in Germany, and on December 27, 1808, Paganini performed a personally written Masonic hymn before members of the Grand Assembly lodge. The fact of the violinist’s acceptance into the brotherhood is confirmed by protocols and the well-known symbolism of the secret organization (the prototype of the Masonic violinist is Paganini). In 1827, the musician, who was not favored by church officials (they considered him either an atheist or a blasphemer), was awarded the Order of the Golden Spur—the second most significant award from the Vatican, issued by the Pope “for contributions to the spread of the Catholic faith and other deeds in glory of the holy Church.” This appeared to be a mysterious recognition for a man who neither wrote nor performed sacred music, did not attend church, and had even been denied a requiem mass.
In the last months of his life, the exhausted Paganini had enough strength only to run his fingers over the strings of the violin that lay nearby. By that time, he had divorced his wife, singer Antonia Bianchi, gaining sole custody of their son Achille. The genius passed away on May 27, 1840. He left this world unparalleled.