Books › Musical Courier 1907-03-20: Vol 54 Iss 12, 1907 › scan 15
Scan 15
Musical Courier 1907-03-20: Vol 54 Iss 12, 1907
43 lines. Read by computer on 26 September 2026. Printed page 16. See the scan on archive.org.
1Paganini's Lost Secret Revealed at Last.
2BY FRANCIS MACMILLEN.
4Nicolo Paganini, who, beyond question, was the greatest violinist that ever lived, was born in Genoa, Italy, February 18, 1784, and died at Nice, May 27, 1840.
6The accompanying portrait of Paganini, published by courtesy of Carl Fischer, is without doubt the most interesting that has been preserved to posterity.
8It shows most vividly that indescribably weird and ghostly appearance, which never failed to cast a spell over his audiences, even before he had sounded a note. A face and a form terrible in their intensity of concentration, and well calculated to haunt the memory and the imagination.
10This portrait shows Paganini in the act of executing one of his famous quadruple stops—impossible to the hand of ordinary dimensions—an arpeggio in E, three octaves over four strings. So large was his hand, that in grasping this chord with ease, the relative position of the back of the hand, wrist and forearm preserved a straight line, as in the lower positions.
12It is said that the picture is a reproduction of one of the first daguerreotypes, and that it is a faithful likeness of the violin king, as he appeared after his return to the Continent at the close of his last season in London. His malady—laryngeal phthisis—was already far advanced, and his final fate was most melancholy. He, whose enthusiasm and devotion to musical art had been unlimited, at last became so emaciated and weak that he was unable to hold his violin. His sufferings were most excruciating, and when death at last quieted his spirit, its visitation was as merciful as the gentle hand of sympathy.
14Satanic powers were ascribed to this incomparable genius, whose violinistic feats were far in advance of those of any of his predecessors or contemporaries, and which to this day have never been equaled. The leading violinists of his day were certain that Paganini was endowed with superhuman powers, and that some psychic influence enabled him to accomplish feats which had baffled all others. They were convinced that there was some secret hidden in his matchless skill, and it was their effort to find out what it was. Several of his contemporaries, determined to discover this mysterious power which placed him so far beyond them, followed him about while he was making tours and resorted to other devices to find out his methods of practice. One of the most famous violinists of the day disguised himself and traveled about from place to place with Paganini and, when possible, secured a room adjoining his, in the various hotels at which he stayed.
16All their efforts were in vain. Whatever the secret of Paganini's phenomenal performances, it died with him.
18Spohr, Ernst and Viotti were often heard to declare that Paganini's genius was wholly different from and far above that of any other violinist who had ever come upon this earth. They frequently heard him, and went so far as to ask him to explain the mysteries of his system. He promised them to reveal certain of his methods which enabled him to build up a technic which so far overshadowed theirs, but he never fulfilled his promise, and when he died, he failed to bequeath the secret of his extraordinary virtuosity to any one.
20The followers of Paganini never despaired of rediscovering his lost secret, and many of them passed the greater part of their lives in experimentation, based upon their knowledge of the great Italian's peculiar methods. Each one, however, was doomed to disappointment. It seemed that the Paganini secret was never to be resuscitated.
22It remained for Robert E. Walker, a violinist, of Paterson, N. J., to accomplish what all these investigators had failed to achieve. Impelled by an inspiration which came to him in a dream, Mr. Walker began to make a diligent study of violin technic, and to prosecute a long series of investigations with regard to the endless problems connected with the fingerboard. Just how he accomplished it he will not clearly explain, but he worked out to his complete satisfaction a method of technic development, wholly different from any which had ever been devised. The more he studied the matter, the more deeply he became interested in the problems, and the more definite were his conclusions with regard to their inestimable value. Having perfected the scheme, he designated it as the "Paganini System of Violin Instruction."
24Mr. Walker gives this lucid explanation of his remarkable discovery:
26"Having pursued the bibliography of bow instruments and the violin in particular, through perhaps 450 volumes, schools and methods, old and new, I have as yet seen no hint of the principles of instruction on which this system is based. The attention of the world of violinists, and bow instrumentalists in general, seems to have been centered more on the complex technic of such instruments than on their true nature and fundamentals.
28"This system appeals to me as being the ultimate analysis of all that pertains to bow instruments, so far as the left hand is concerned. I consider that it marks a new era in the history of music and of bow instruments—that it will enable the virtuoso to conserve his strength and energy, while at the same time he obtains through the system absolute mental command and technical independence; that it will immeasurably elevate the ideals of the dilettante—lighten the labors and increase the efficacy of the teacher, hold the attention and maintain the interest of the pupil, develop great talent that would otherwise remain more or less dormant and latent, and, finally, that it will ultimately greatly improve the ensemble."
30In the introductory chapter of his treatise on "The Paganini System of Violin Instruction," the author thus modestly puts forth his claims:
32"This treatise is based on an idea or theory, different from the usual line of procedure in violin instruction. It deals at one stroke with the entire contents or notation of the fingerboard.
34"Under the different schools of violin playing, the student gains a knowledge of the fingerboard notation, only after years of exhaustive study. But by the system hereafter expounded the novice covers the entire range of the instrument in thirty minutes, in a manner that is instructive along several lines, and by a method, the mechanical details of which impose a task always productive of the highest results.
36"This work does not claim to teach the rudiments or theory of music as applied to the violin—the schools of Spohr, David, De Beriot, Dancla, and numerous other writers comprehensively cover the subject—nor does it aim to present or teach the technic of the instrument in any material detail—this has been exhaustively treated by Courvoisier in his 'Technics of Violin Playing'—nor again, does it claim to give any formula, whereby the arduous practice of the instrument may be sensibly abated or the services of an instructor in any way dispensed with; but its object is rather to look away from the general routine of instruction, and seek by other methods than those generally pursued, to overcome the greatest obstruction or difficulty to the study of the violin—the acquisition of a thorough knowledge and conception of the fingerboard rotation, as regards the arrangement and the relative distances.
38"As a simple means of acquiring a better and more comprehensive theory of the arrangement of the instrument than is generally obtained through its practice, it will be found to answer a most valuable purpose, and to render the practice of the instrument more efficient, and the advancement of the student much more rapid.
40"If, to the profession, it seems to be in a large measure an exposition of the obvious, I have only to say that in order to make the subject most clear to those unversed therein, I have endeavored to render each statement axiomatical.
42"The time required to practice this system is trivial, compared to the results obtained, and the system furnishes a means of relaxation and recreation to the student of the
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