"Our inherited image of Nicolo Paganini as a 'demonic violinist' has never been analysed in depth. What really made him 'demonic'? In fact, the many perceptions of Paganini as demonic - Faust, magician, devil, rake/libertine, Napoleon - were inter-related but not equivalent. This book investigates the legend of Paganini: separating fact from fiction, it explains how the legendary violinist challenged the very notion of what it meant to be a musician. An understanding of his violin techniques and musical ethos goes some way towards meeting this aim, beyond which an exploration of the wider cultural context is also presented. This book considers Paganini's performance innovations in the light of contemporary attitudes towards music and the supernatural, gender, sexuality, violence, heroism, masculinity, as well conceptions of power. A swirl of cultural factors coalesced in the performer to create that phenomenon of Romanticism, a larger-than- life Gothic villain. Because the mythology surrounding the violinist outlived and outgrew the man to monstrous proportions, so too did the idea of virtuosity inflate out of control, acquiring a potent, overwhelmingly negative aura in the process. An appendix brings together late nineteenth-century British press and literature coverage of Paganini that contributed to the developing myth surrounding the now famous composer and performer."--Publisher's description.

Reproduction of the original: Nicolo Paganini: His Life and Work by Stephen Samuel Stratton

An old gravedigger recites the story of Nicolo Paganini, the 18th-century Italian violinist whose extraordinary skills and eerie stage presence made him a musical legend.

One never knows where genius comes from. Follow one of the greatest musicians and composers in history from the slums of Genoa to the grandest concert halls and palaces of Europe, through poverty, war, revolution, love, parenthood, and loss. An incredible life set against the backdrop of tumultuous Europe in late 18th - early 19th centuries.