Niccolo Paganini, born in Italy in 1782, is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of all time. He reinvented violin technique, and his 24 Caprices, which popularized novel uses of the bow among other innovations, has inspired many violinists and composers.
But Paganini’s prodigious prowess (he began playing the violin at 7) helped foster the notion that his otherworldly talent had a slightly sinister origin. He performed recitals without music and could play up to 12 notes per second. His exceptionally long fingers allowed him to play three octaves across four strings. In other words, an explanation for such extraordinary skill was required. Had he made a Faustian bargain?
The rumors began after a concert in Vienna in which an audience member reported seeing the devil helping Paganini play. In another performance, lightning supposedly struck the end of his bow. Some began to claim they’d seen doppelgängers of Paganini with horns and hooves.
Paganini, a ghostly pale and lanky man, also suffered from poor health and turned to alcohol and opium, gambling and womanizing. It was even whispered that he was capable of murder — the screams of dead women were thought to be heard coming from within his violin.
On his deathbed in 1840, Paganini turned away a priest who had arrived to administer last rites, insisting he wasn’t dying, lending fuel to the notion that he had a protector from the underworld. He died a week later, unblessed and unwelcome in the local churchyard before an appeal to Pope Gregory XVI facilitated his eventual burial many years later.
Today, it is theorized that Paganini suffered either from Marfan’s syndrome, which might explain his elongated fingers and frame, or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which causes unusual flexibility and might account for his ability to play at inordinate speeds.
Whatever his afflictions, it’s agreed that Paganini expanded the boundaries of what was possible with the violin and became an enduring influence.
Watch this trailer for the 2013 movie The Devil’s Violinist, starring German violinist David Garrett, which leans heavily into the demonic mystique surrounding Paganini.
And here is Paganini’s most famous composition, 24 Caprices, performed by Antal Zalai.
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