147
The First Triumph of Paganini,
by Annibale Gatti, c.1890, possibly
depicts a performance at the court
at Lucca, where Paganini built his
reputation during the early 1800s.See also: The Four Seasons 92–97 ■ Faust Symphony 176 –17 7ROMANTIC 1810 –1920
cultivate an equally dramatic
persona. His career coincided
with technical advances in piano
manufacturing that made the
instrument reliable, versatile, and
loud enough to fill the large concert
halls that catered for the growing
middle classes. Liszt was the most
highly gifted of a new breed of
composer-pianists who competed
for prominence—sometimes in
piano-playing duels. His celebrity
status helped establish the piano
recital in its present form, thereby
benefiting other composers.Paganini’s and Liszt’s talent
pushed the boundaries of existing
techniques for both violin and
piano. The concerto became a
stage for soloists to excel on these
instruments, while the theme and
variations form, in which a simple,
often well-known melody would
be submitted to increasingly
impressive reworkings, became
popular among concert-goers
and composers. The theme of
Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 inspired
works by Liszt, Johannes Brahms,
and Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Later virtuosos included the
Belgian composer-violinist Henri
Vieuxtemps and composer-pianists
Louis Moreau Gottschalk in the US,
Leopold Godowsky in Poland, and
Rachmaninoff in Russia. ■Niccolò Paganini
Born in the Italian port town
of Genoa in October 1782,
Paganini learned the violin
and guitar from his father,
who was an outstanding
amateur musician. The young
Paganini supplemented his
training with a strict regimen
of practice, later claiming
he became a virtuoso after
hearing a performance by the
Polish-born French violinist
August Duranowski.
In 1809, Paganini left a
court appointment in Lucca
to pursue a solo career. He
traveled in Italy, composing
and performing works that
displayed his skills. Health
problems, including syphilis,
delayed him until 1828, after
which he went first to Austria,
Bohemia, and Germany and
then, in 1831, to Paris, where
his 10 concerts at the Opéra
caused a sensation. In 1834,
continuing ill health forced
him into semi-retirement in
Italy, where he died in 1840.Other key works1813 Le Streghe (The Witches)
1816 Violin Concerto No. 1
1819 Sonata “a Preghiera”
1826 Violin Concerto No. 2
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