Niccolo Paganini - Essay Example

The evolution of Western music is indebted to the contributions of world-renowned composers/musicians. Within this scenario, Niccolo Paganini’s contributions are noteworthy because his compositions inspired other composers and revolutionized the context of Western music. Besides, he is the instigator behind the inculcation of modernity within the scenario of ‘the violin technique’.                                                    

Personal life      

Paganini was born in the year 1782 in a city in Italy named Genoa. His father (say, Antonio) was a trader by profession, who is interested in music. Besides, his mother’s name was Teresa. His father helped him to learn the basic lessons in music, especially to play mandolin. Gradually, he lost interest in mandolin and selected violin. But Paganini gained mastery in playing violin and his father decided to introduce him to famous musicians. To be specific, Paganini was able to learn more from renowned teachers, named Gasparo Ghiretti and Ferdinando Paer. Both these teachers deeply influenced his composition style. Later, Paganini traveled to different cities like Livorno, Lucca, and Florence. Besides, he conducted concert tours in different parts of Europe like Vienna, Germany, Bohemia, etc. So, these concert tours helped him to gain critical acclaim as a violinist and music composer. In addition, he used to play modified versions of music by other composers. Mai Kawabata states that “The aura of Paganini in the popular imagination as a ‘demonic’ violin virtuoso, a mysterious figure hovering in a grey area between reality and myth, has not changed greatly in nearly two hundred years” (1). On the other side, his health condition was bad because he suffered from syphilis and tuberculosis. There is less information on his marital relationship, but one among them is his relationship with a vocalist who is named Antonia Bianchi. But Paganini provided less interest to gain legal approval for this relationship. Still, he looked after their son, named Achilles Cyrus Alexander. Paganini succumbed to death in the year 1840.  

 Career

One can see that the mastermind behind Paganini’s success as a music composer and as a violinist is his father. Besides, he used to travel a lot and this helped him to be in touch with other musicians/composers. He did not depend upon other composers but used to compose excellent musical notes on his own. This sort of self-reliance helped him to be the torchbearer of innovation within violin technique. On the other side, he did not provide ample importance to careerism because he was aware of the fact that careerism cannot help him to be a successful composer. If he decided to be a court musician forever, he might not have written and composed the 24 Caprices. Besides, this composition was dedicated to other musicians. He used to seek inspiration from nature and everyday life, his compositions like Il Fandango Spanolo and Duetto Amoroso can be pointed out as examples of the same. The greatness of this musician is evident in the fact that his musical compositions deeply influenced his contemporary musicians/composers and others. Robert Schumann, Boris Blacher, and Witold Lutosławski are some of the musicians/composers who sought inspiration from Paganini.

Summing up, Paganini’s life history proves that he provided equal importance to his career (say, music) and personal life. But their unending interest in traveling and bohemian way of life forced him to be the victim of an unexpected illness. From a different angle of view, Paganini failed to control his life, but it helped him to unleash his musical creativity. In short, his musical compositions still inspire musicians and this proves his importance within the world of music.