Nicolo Paganini [1782-1840] was arguably the world’s greatest violinist. His incredible virtuosity totally revolutionized the instrument, and his amazing skills led many people to believe he had made a Faustian deal with the Devil in order to acquire his seemingly inhuman abilities. Paganini was so unbelievably good that audiences in the pre-Victorian era were convinced that he’d made some kind of pact with Satan.

The ‘Satanic’ connection to explain away the extraordinary talents of certain musicians is a powerful trope that never seems to lose its popular appeal. In the Twentieth Century, both blues legend Robert Johnson and Led Zeppelin’s blindingly quick guitarist, Jimmy Page, were said to have sold their souls to the devil in exchange for their unearthly skills. No actual proof has been forthcoming.

Paganini’s virtuosity in performance, especially his visually captivating style, played a key role in creating the image of a demonic freak. Paganini’s unparalleled technical ability, his powerful presentation and his supreme control of the instrument made him the musical marvel of his day. The man who many claim was the greatest violinist who ever lived continues to exert a powerful influence on contemporary music. His contributions were truly extraordinary.

Paganini created the template for what we would identify today as the decadent, “live-fast, die-young” rock-star lifestyle. During his career, he was just as famous for his womanizing and gambling as he was for his playing.

Women swooned over him; they fainted and screamed with ecstasy at his concerts – the likes of which would not be seen again until Elvis Presley wowed audiences more than a hundred years later…

Paganini is recognized as the first real superstar performer, but not simply because of his playing ability: his physical appearance was also otherworldly. He had long, flowing jet-black hair and enormous sideburns, and he always looked emaciated and pale. These features only added to the mystique that was built around his musical prowess. He was described as “cadaverous” by critics at the time. Some claimed that he resembled “a corpse risen from the grave; a vampire with a violin,” and that his bow arm was guided by the devil himself.

Paganini dressed in black from head to toe, making him the original ‘Goth,’ and he encouraged audiences to think he was possessed by the devil to enable him to perform such supernatural displays of technical brilliance.

Paganini also suffered from two rare genetic conditions: “Ehlers-Danlos” disorder, giving him hyper-mobile joints with amazing elasticity, and “Marfan Syndrome,” which meant that he naturally had longer limbs and fingers than other players. Both of these factors contributed greatly to his unbelievable dexterity and virtuosity.

Niccolo Paganini was born on October 27, 1782, in Genoa, Italy. His first instrument was a mandolin, but at the age of 7 his father gave him a violin to play. Little Nicolo was locked in his room, forced to practice up to 15 hours a day. He received his first musical instruction from his father, a devoted amateur musician. It soon became obvious that Nicolo was a certifiable musical prodigy, however, and he quickly surpassed his father’s abilities. He was then sent to study with the maestro, Giacomo Costa. By age 11, Paganini was already performing solos on stage. At 13, Paganini had become an accomplished violin virtuoso. He only needed to learn composition. By the age of 19 Paganini was indeed composing, and he also learned to play the guitar.

He made his first public appearance in 1793. In 1797, accompanied by his father, Paganini toured Lombardy, where his reputation grew with each concert. Between 1801 and 1807, he wrote his most famous work, 24 Capricci for Solo Violin, displaying the novel features of his technique. Mastering the Capricci has long served as the equivalent of a Ph.D. for subsequent violinists. They are among the most challenging musical pieces ever written. For years, no other violinists, apart from Paganini himself – were capable of playing this technically demanding work.

Themes from the Capricci inspired later works by Schumann, Brahms, and Rachmaninoff. His influence on composer Franz Liszt was said to be profound.

In 1809, at the age of 27, Paganini toured Italy as a soloist and mesmerized audiences with his brilliance. He could perform any music on sight, and he improvised brilliantly. Ever the showman, Paganini would take a pair of scissors and proceed to sever his violin strings one by one as he continued to play. He would then perform an entire composition using only the G String (the Moses Fantasy).

He also employed pyrotechnics to wow his audiences during live performances, setting off smoke bombs at pivotal moments during the show. This rather tawdry practice is still used in rock concerts today.

Attributing Paganini’s remarkable abilities to supernatural forces reflected the audiences’ inability to explain how he was able execute such incredible feats of virtuosity. Notably, some of these accusations were made not just by spectators and critics, but by other violin virtuosi as well: Karol Lipinski called him the “Genoese Wizard,” and Ludwig Spohr claimed that, “He is a complete wizard, and brings tones from his violin which were never heard before from that instrument.”

Although the majority of the Capricci are in the moderato (moderate) tempo, on #24, Paganini seemingly filled every bar with as many notes as possible.

Later in the Twentieth Century, Frank Zappa composed some similar pieces for the electric guitar and titled them with variations on the theme of, “The Black Page.” This was a reference to the sheet-music for the piece, which contained so much ink [i.e., notes…] as to render its appearance almost entirely black.

Some of Jimmy Page’s blazing guitar work reflects Paganini’s influence as well; particularly Page’s use of a violin bow on songs like Dazed And Confused and How Many More Times. Reviews of Paganini’s shows mention him striking his violin and making it “cry” in the same manner as Page many years later.

Contemporary critics described Paganini’s violin bow as an instrument of sorcery: “Paganini has been recently waving his magic wand,” wrote one reviewer for the Harmonicon after a performance in Leipzig in 1829, and the poet Heinrich Heine wrote of Paganini “waving his bow in the air…he appeared more than ever like a wizard commanding the elements.” The famous French cartoonist Jean Grandville even depicted Paganini’s bow as a witch’s broomstick in one of his humorous illustrations of the violinist.

Paganini’s violin technique demanded a wide use of harmonics and pizzicato effects, including new methods of fingering and even the use of open tunings. Perhaps the trickiest of the twenty-four Capricci is called B-Flat Major (No. 13). Nicknamed “The Devil’s Laughter.” This is a stunningly complicated work, and a great example of why audiences were in such awe of Paganini’s immense talent. Another Capricci, A-Minor (No. 5) is notable not only for its complexity, but for the influence it has exerted on contemporary heavy metal guitarists. Swedish rocker Yngwie Malmsteen based his entire career on this sound, while Steve Vai (who began his career playing with Frank Zappa), used No. 5 as the template for his guitar solo – playing the role of Satan in the film Crossroads, starring Ralph Macchio.

Paganini was appointed director of music at Piombino by Napoleon Bonaparte’s sister, Élisa Bonaparte Baciocchi. He gave recitals of his own compositions throughout Italy, and in 1824 he began his long relationship with the beautiful soprano, Antonia Bianchi. She became his mistress, and in 1825 she bore him a son, Achilles. Paganini finally married Bianchi and legitimized Achilles in 1837.

In 1828 Paganini experienced great success in Vienna, and his appearances in Paris and London in 1831 were equally sensational. His tour of England and Scotland in 1832 made him a very wealthy man. In 1833 he finally settled in Paris, where he opened his own gambling house, the ‘Casino Paganini.’

Paganini’s artistic fortunes began to decline in 1834. His long-precarious health was finally ruined, even though he managed to retain his fame and most of his considerable wealth. He continued to give sporadic concerts in subsequent years, but he spent most of the time at his villa in Parma. A bout with Larynx cancer led to the loss of his voice, and in November of 1839 he went to Nice, France, to recuperate. Complications from syphilis and a host of other related health problems acquired along the way eventually led to Paganini’s premature death in 1840 at the age of 48.