Books › Famous violinists and fine violins : historical notes, anecdotes, and reminiscences, 1896 › scan 64
Scan 64
Famous violinists and fine violins : historical notes, anecdotes, and reminiscences, 1896
8 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 44. See the scan on archive.org.
1IV
3THE SECRET OF PAGANINI
5THAT Paganini had a greater share of success than any violinist who preceded him will be readily admitted, just as we may say that Shakespeare as a writer of plays stood far above any of his predecessors. Paganini had a natural gift for music nearly as great as that of our "immortal Will" for blank verse. He inherited it from his father, and, probably, also from his mother, who were both known in Genoa to be great votaries of the divine art. After this gift had been duly cultivated, it enabled him to astonish his contemporaries by his performances on the violin and on the guitar.
7When we remember that his father was a clever player on the mandoline, the latter accomplishment is less surprising; but the details of the boyish life of Nicolo Paganini are little known, except that he appears to have been severely encouraged in his music by the said father, and kindly treated by his mother. He was of a highly nervous and sensitive nature, and was taught, while still very young, by his stern parent, who was but a poor clerk in a
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