{"id":47158,"date":"2024-09-11T12:28:27","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T10:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/e95a88b0-1741-4d40-934d-4b7a43474539"},"modified":"2024-09-11T13:07:17","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T11:07:17","slug":"paganini-six-of-the-best-works-by-the-explosive-violin-virtuoso","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/paganini-six-of-the-best-works-by-the-explosive-violin-virtuoso\/","title":{"rendered":"Paganini: six of the best works by the explosive violin virtuoso"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 11 September 2024 at 10:28 AM<\/p>

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\u2018A blazing comet\u2019 was how Hector Berlioz described Italian violinist Niccol\u00f2 Paganini<\/a><\/strong>. So faultless was his playing that many were convinced he had made a pact with the devil \u00ad\u2013 a theory substantiated by his somewhat ghoulish stage persona. The music that Paganini composed and performed throughout the early 19th century completely altered people\u2019s perceptions of what could be done on a violin. As heard in the best Paganini works, this maestro’s dazzling collection of techniques and special effects would often drive members of his audience to hysteria.<\/p>

There were ghostly multiple harmonics (achieved by touching several strings very lightly), a ricochet bow-stroke that enabled him to play rapid sequences of notes at once, and high-velocity pizzicatos plucked by a spare finger in the left hand.<\/p>