Niccolo Paganini

It is believed that Niccolo Paganini suffered from genetic disorders like Marfan or Ehlers–Danlos syndrome. His appearance, along with expertise in music, gave rise to the rumor that he was associated with the devil and could play so well only because he had a pact with him.

Although he never got married, he had number of love affairs. Among them, his affair with Angiolina Cavanna produced a stillborn daughter. It is rumored that in May 1815, he was arrested for seducing Cavanna and was interred at Torre Grimaldina in Genoa until a settlement was reached. He always denied the charge.

Paganini also had a long lasting live-in relationship with dancer Antonia Bianchi. The two met in Milan in 1813, living together until he went on his European tour in 1828.

Niccolò Paganini was born on 27 October 1782 in Genoa, at that time the capital of the Republic of Genoa. His father, Antonio Paganini, was an unsuccessful commercial broker involved in shipping business. His mother’s name was Teresa (née Bocciardo) Paganini. Both of them were amateur musicians.

Niccolò, born third of his parents’ six children, was baptized on 28th October in Chiesa di San Salvatore in Piazza Sarzano. Among his surviving siblings were Biagio Paganini, Carlo Paganini and Teresa Bonati. Nothing is known about the other two.

Antonio Pagnani was a mandolin player at the local orchestra. He was quick to recognize Niccolò’s potential and started teaching him mandolin as soon as he was five and half years old. His mother, although illiterate, too nurtured her son’s talent as best she could.

As Niccolò turned seven, his father started teaching him violin. Since he was a mandolin player, he did not have much to offer to a genius like Niccolò. He therefore, took him to Giovanni Servetto, a violinist at the local orchestra, for further lessons.

Very soon, Servetto realized that his knowledge of music was not adequate for guiding such an extraordinary boy. He therefore sent Niccolo to Francesco Gnecco, who in turn sent him to his own teacher, Giacomo Costa.

The Paganinis returned to Genoa possibly in late 1796. By then, the city was under French control and his family had moved to Romairone. Paganini was forced to spend a quiet time, composing music, performing them at the local churches. They were so difficult that only he could play them.

This was also the period, he started practicing guitar; preferring to play the instrument in close quarters rather than in public concerts. In 1797, Paganini went on his first tour, giving around a dozen concerts at Milan, Bogona, Florence, Pisa and Leghorn.

In spite of his success, his father continued to control his life with an iron hand, making him practice his own compositions, often ten hours a day. Very soon, he started wishing to be free. His chance came, when in 1801, he visited Lucca, this time with his elder brother Carlo

In Lucca, he played successfully at the Festival of Santa Croce, held on 14 September, 1801. He now settled down in Lucca, being appointed first violin of the Republic of Lucca in the following year. Concurrently, he continued to attend concerts, earning sufficient amount from them.

He also continued to compose; starting his work on ‘24 Caprices for Solo Violin’ sometime in 1802. But away from parental scrutiny, he also developed many vices, spending his leisure hours gambling, drinking and womanizing. It is believed that during this period, he had an alcohol related breakdown, needing medical attention.

Towards the end of 1809, after a tiff with the Grand Duchess, Niccolo Paganini left Florence to embark on a freelance career. He now travelled around Genoa and Parma, recognized as a virtuoso by the local audience. However, until then, he remained unknown elsewhere.

His first big break came when on 29 October 1813 he gave his first recital at Teatro alla Scala in Milan. It was hugely successful, attracting attention of prominent musicians of Europe. Within a period of ten weeks, he gave six more concerts at the same auditorium.

He soon began to be considered the foremost violinist in Europe, giving more than hundred concerts, in different Italian cities like Genoa, Parma, Florence, Turin, Naples, Bologna, Venice and Rome. This was also the period, when he incurred different diseases due to his undisciplined life, making him repeatedly ill.

In 1828, Paganini first went on an all-Europe tour. Starting with 14 concerts in Vienna, he stopped at every important city in Germany, Poland and Bohemia, finally settling down in Strasbourg, where he remained until 1831. His success led to a formation of a cult, where everything was ‘a la Paganini’.

In 1832, he visited Great Britain, touring England and Scotland, earning huge amount of money. In 1833, he settled in Paris, remaining there till September 1834. During this period he once again started suffering from different ailments, leading to frequent cancellation of his concerts, which hampered his career.