Niccolò Paganini is an Italian violin virtuoso whose playing made such a stunning impression that contemporaries even whispered that he had sold his soul to the devil. In reality it was the result of unheard-of labour and a genius who expanded the technical possibilities of the violin to limits unthinkable at the time.
Paganini invented new playing techniques (complex double stops, left-hand pizzicato, harmonics, playing on a single string) that are still the summit of violin technique. His 24 Caprices for solo violin remain the “bible” of every violinist, and their theme has inspired countless composers (from Liszt to the present) to their own variations. Paganini became the first true touring “superstar” in history and the embodiment of the Romantic cult of the virtuoso — an artist who overcomes the limits of the possible.
