Niccolò Paganini
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Niccolò Paganini died on this day in 1840.
I do not play the violin, yet Paganini has, without a doubt, shaped my musical education. His most important work - Caprice in A Minor, Op. 1 No. 24 - has served as inspiration for other prominent composers, from Lizst to Brahms to Rachmaninoff, resulting in numerous transcriptions for the piano. It is through these piano works that I eventually learnt of Paganini himself. A little research later, I found myself appreciating the limitless depth that a lone string instrument possesses, especially when wielded by a masterful and virtuosic legends like Heifetz and Milstein.
“The writing of violin music was also dramatically changed through Paganini. Even in his youth, he was able to imitate other sounds such as horns, flutes, and birds with his violin. Though highly colorful and technically imaginative, Paganini’s composition was not considered truly polyphonic. Eugène Ysaÿe criticized Paganini’s accompaniment for lacking in any character of polyphonism. Nevertheless, he expanded the timbre of the instrument to levels previously unknown… In performance Paganini enjoyed playing tricks, like tuning one of his strings a semitone high (scordatura), or playing the majority of a piece on one string after breaking the other three. He astounded audiences with techniques that included harmonics, double stops, pizzicato with the left as well as the right hand, and near-impossible fingerings and bowings.” (Niccolò Paganini)