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Birth
Niccolò Paganini was born in Genoa the 27th of October, 1782. He was the sixth son of Antonio and Teresa Paganini. -
First contact with music: mandolin
At the age of 5, his father, who was a mandolin player, started giving him mandolin lessons. -
Violin
When he was 7 years old, he joined violin lessons with local teachers, but in a short time his level was already higher than that of their teachers, so his father travelled with him to Parma, where Alessandro Rolla taught violin lessons. But when Rolla listened to Niccolò's interpretation, he decided that his own teacher, Ferdinando Paer, would be able to teach more to the little boy. Paer did exactly the same as Rolla, and asked his teacher, Gasparo Ghiretti, to give lessons to Niccolò. -
Guitar
In March 1796, Napoleon's troops took Genoa, and the Paganini had to take refuge in Romairone. In this period, the young man mastered the guitar. -
The Boom
Since 1805 he had been living in Lucca, at the court of Napoleon's sister. In 1813 he decided to leave Lucca and start a tour of Italy. His first concert was in the theatre La Scala, in Milan. The concert was a complete success, and began to attract people's attention all around Europe. With the years, he had been to London, Paris, and Viena. -
24 Caprices
In the year 1817, Paganini finally finished the 24 caprices, his most important works. The 24th is very famous and it's also known as one of the most difficult violin songs. -
Syphilis
He was diagnosed with syphilis, and his remedy, which included mercury and opium, came with serious physical and psychological side effects -
Rumors and his pact with the devil
It began to spread a rumor that paganini's virtuosity was the result of making a pact with the devil. It was said that Paganini sold his soul to the devil in exchange for becoming one of the greatest and most important references in the history of music. The rumor said that the 24 caprices were dedicated to the devil, as a symbol of gratefulness. In fact, the thirteenth caprice, has as its second name "the laughter of the devil". -
The Retirement
In 1834, because of his health problems, he decided to stop his concert career and returned to Genoa. Paganini dedicated his last years of life to teaching and composing violin methods, which we continue to use today to learn to play the violin. -
Death
Paganini died in Nice the 27th of may, 1840. An internal bleeding caused his dead. During his last years of life, he suffered many other diseases. For example, syphilis, a disease which cured with mercury. Experts say mercury intake could be the cause of Niccolò's other unknown illnesses. Due to the rumors about Paganini, when he died, the priest denied a Christian funeral for the musician. He was buried in a big mausoleum in Parma, 36 years after his death. -
Encrucijada (1986)
It is a film about a young guitarist that, after losing a duel, he is forced to play Paganini's fifth caprice -
Paganini || Paganini Horror
Paganini: it's a film about Paganini's life.
Paganini Horror: a femenine rock band uses an old sheet music to record their new album in an old mansion, where they accidentally open a portal to the Hell. -
The Devil's Violinist
It tells the story of how Paganini courted the daughter of the one who helped him get to England, causing his fury.
