Anniversary of the birth of a great musician

On this day 229 years ago one of the greatest musicians was born in Genoa, Italy, on October 27, 1782.

Nicolo Paganini was taught by his father Antonio to play the mandolin at the age of five before he took up the violin when he was seven.

When the French invaded northern Italy in March 1796 Paganini, pictured below, and his father moved to Livorno where he played in a number of concerts before he was appointed the first violin of the Republic of Lucca.

Apparently his fame as a violinist was matched only by his reputation as a gambler and womanizer.

When Lucca was annexed by Napoleonic France in 1805, the region was ceded to Napoleon’s sister, Elisa Baciocchi.

Paganini became a violinist for the Baciocchi court, giving private lessons to her husband Felice and he moved with the court to Florence.

His reputation increased after his concert at La Scala in Milan in 1813. But he didn’t start touring Europe until August 1828 when he went to Vienna and then stopped off at every major European city in Germany, Poland, and Bohemia until February, 1831.

Shrewsbury pulled off an amazing PR coup when they persuaded Signor Paganini to call into Shrewsbury in 1833 on his way to St Petersburg in Russia.

The only details we know are from a concert programme, pictured below, which still hangs in the Lion Hotel reception today.

It says: “Under distinguished patronage, Signor Paganini respectfully announces to the Nobility and Gentry of Shrewsbury that he will give a Grand Vocal and Instrumental Concert at the Lion Ballroom on Thursday evening, August the 15th, being positively the only time he can possibly have the honour of appearing before them previous to his departure for the Court of St Petersburg on which occasion he has engaged those highly  celebrated Vocalists, Miss Wells and Miss Watson, likewise Mr Watson, composer to the Theatres Royal, English Opera House and Covent Gardens, and member of the Royal Academy of Music who will preside at the Piano Forte. Tickets 2/6d each (12.5p today) may be had at Mr Eddoes, Corn Market, Shrewsbury. The concert will commence precisely at 8 o’ clock.”

He astounded a packed ballroom at The Lion Hotel in Shrewsbury, with techniques that included harmonies and near impossible fingerings and bowings.

His Caprice No. 24 in A Minor, Op. 1, is among his best compositions, a work that has inspired many top composers.

In September 1834, Paganini ended his concert career and returned to Genoa. He died on May 27, 1840, and his tomb, pictured below, can be seen today in Parma.

Incidentally, the Shrewsbury Summer Season re-enacted the Paganini concert on Friday, August 15, 2008, at The Lion to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the event.

Organised by Maggie Love, then the Arts Development Officer at Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council, the concert attracted a sell-out audience at the hotel as violin virtuoso Madeleine Easton, helped by musicians Claire Surman and Gary Cooper, played the exact violin pieces performed by Paganini in 1833.

There are more details about the concert and the ballroom in Four Centuries at The Lion Hotel.

To buy a signed copy contact John@jbutterworth.plus.com.