François-Joseph Fétis

“ Paris, especially, was hostile to him, although that city contributed principally to his fame. Apart from the real public, who entertain neither hatred nor prejudice, and who yield to the pleasure which talent provides for them, there is, in that city, a hunger-starved population, which exists on the ill it does and the good it prevents. This contemptible world speculated upon the celebrity of the artist, and persuaded itself that he would purchase their silence. Lithographic prints presented him a prisoner; journals attacked his morals, his humanity, his integrity. ”

“ For more than twenty years every violinist has looked forward to the production of these works with anxiety and curiosity, under the impression of being able, with them, to “do the Paganini,” and establish himself, if not in imitation, at least as a pupil of that illustrious man. But few imagined the great truths which would manifest themselves by the revelation of the secret of his music—none could foresee how much this great man would be elevated in their esteem when the prodigious difficulties he executed while playing, were placed before them. ”

“ The qualities even of his talent were but weapons for his enemies, and it was said that the solitude of a prison, and the impossibility of replacing the strings of his Violin which had broken, led to his marvellous performance on the fourth, the only one that remained upon his instrument. When Paganini visited Germany, France, and England, envy pursued him, greedy of collecting odious calumny, to oppose his success, as if it were decreed that genius and talent should ever expiate the advantages which nature and study had endowed them with. ”

“ The twenty variations upon the popular air “Oh, Mamma,” known as the “Carnaval de Venise,” which has been so frequently imitated, are remarkable for the distinct character given to each; all the bow and finger effects imagined by Paganini are concentrated in it. Good taste is sometimes departed from in a few of the variations, but it will not be denied that some extraordinary effects are produced in those strange freaks, to which the marvellous dexterity of the artist lent an irresistible charm. ”

“ He occasionally avowed, with great sincerity, that the obligation of identifying his public existence with music made him feel an imperious desire to forget the art when he entered into ordinary life. Nor can it be dissimulated that this idiosyncracy pertains to almost every artist who has obtained great celebrity, and who has acquired popular fame. With these, all their faculties are concentrated in the feeling of their personality. Art, separated from their own glorification, does not exist. ”

“ Paganini was deeply affected by these rumours, which not only detracted from his position, but tended to render his talent valueless. It is not improbable that in his youth he had himself contributed to the propagation of such fabrications by his eccentricities. But when age crept on—when honours and successes had accumulated—he discovered that none, however great his fame, however favoured by fortune, could be great when general esteem is withheld. ”

“ The talent of this artist was especially appreciated at its full value upon various occasions at concerts of sacred music, where other violinists of incontestable merit had performed. He bore away the palm after contesting it with Pugnani, Domenico Ferrari, and John Stamitz.
The arrival of Viotti in Paris produced a sensation difficult to describe. No performer had been heard who had attained so high a degree of perfection—no artist had possessed so fine a tone, such sustained elegance, such fire, and a style so varied. ”

“ Arcangelo Corelli, a name justly celebrated in the annals of music, will descend to ages unborn without losing a particle of its glory, whatever revolutions may be effected in the domains of art. The great artist who bore that name, no less celebrated for his compositions than for his marvellous execution at that period, was born in 1653, at Fusignano, a small town in the States of the Church, and died at Rome, on the 18th of January, 1713. His contemporaries were not jealous of his glory, for the whole of Europe welcomed his talent with unanimous acclamations ”

“ On the 29th of March, the first concert of this great artist threw the Viennese population into an indescribable paroxysm of enthusiasm. “The first note he played on his Guarnerius (says M. Schilling, in poetical style, in his “Universal-Lexicon der Musik”) —indeed, from his first step into the room—his reputation was decided in Germany. Acted upon as by an electric spark, a brilliant halo of glory appeared to invest his whole person; he stood before us like a miraculous apparition in the domain of art.” The Vienna journals were unlimited in hyperbolical expressions of admiration ”

“ After an uninterrupted series of triumphs, during three years, in Austria, Bohemia, Saxony, Poland, Bavaria, Prussia, and in the Rhenish provinces, after unceasing ovations of Vienna, Dresden, Berlin, and Frankfort, the celebrated artist arrived at Paris, and gave his first concert at the Opera, the 9th of March, 1831. His studies for the Violin, which had been published there for some time—a species of enigma which had perplexed every violinist; the European fame of the artist, his travels and triumphs, raised the curiosity of the artists and the public. ”

“ This principle I perfectly coincide with; yet I would observe, on the one hand, that certain artists will never be prevented from endeavouring to overcome difficulties, however apparently insurmountable, nor the public from applauding the happy result of their efforts: on the other hand, that the study of difficulties conduces to certainty in what is more simple. If any violinist can play, with perfect intonation, and in the prescribed time, the passages of Paganini’s concertos, he will necessarily attain imperturbable certainty in ordinary music. ”

“ As a study, it is a new world for the perseverance of young artists, the results of which will be the acquisition of certainty, which only a small number of performers possess, and the enlargement of the great resources of the instrument.
It may be asked why new difficulties are introduced into art; and it may be remarked, with reason, that the aim of music is not to surprise with marvellous feats, but to delight the feelings. ”

“ All is calculated, in the works of this excellent artist, for the better production of tone. To these advantages are superadded equality in all the strings, grace of form, finish of details, and brilliancy of varnish. In a large concert room a good Violin of Giuseppe Guarnieri has more power of sonority; but in a drawing-room nothing can possibly equal the brilliant mellowness of a well-preserved Stradiuari. Unfortunately many have fallen into the hands of unskilful workmen for repairs. ”

“ The most renowned popularities of the nineteenth century have each differed in their specialty,—Napoleon Bonaparte, Rossini, and Paganini. Many other names, doubtless, recall talents of the finest order, and personalities of the highest value; yet, notwithstanding their having been duly appreciated by the intelligent and enlightened classes, they have not called forth those outbursts of enthusiasm which have been manifested towards others during an entire generation. ”

“ Freed from restraint, and relishing the delights of his new-born independence, he formed connections with other artists, whose sole abilities seemed to consist in encouraging a taste for gambling in young men of family and means, and turning the tables upon them to their own advantage. Paganini, in this manner, frequently lost the produce of several concerts in one night, and was consequently often in a state of great embarrassment. His talent soon procured fresh resources, and time passed gaily enough, alternately between good and bad fortune. ”

“ Admirable in sentiment, as avowedly the concertos of Viotti are, their weakness consists in the monotony of the rapid passages—and the same may be said of nearly all other known concertos. Art is evidently limited in this species of composition, to things which cannot be considered as the last essay of the artist’s skill—more may be boldly attempted, and that by varied means. Let the happy darings of Paganini be studied, and it will be found that something is gained. ”

“ There are few examples of such devotion to severe study as Paganini evinced in the accomplishment of his art. He created the difficulties he performed, with a view of varying the effects and augmenting the resources of his instrument—this, as it is seen, having been his object, so soon as he was capable of reflecting on his ultimate destiny. Having played the music of the old masters, particularly that of Pugnani, Viotti and Kreutzer, he felt he could never attain great fame if he followed in their path. ”

“ Apart from the study of mechanism—for which there is no substitute—no secret can exist from talent, but that which nature implants in the heart of the artist; there is, however, something astounding and mysterious in the faculty which Paganini possessed, of invariably overcoming the almost unheard-of difficulties, without ever touching the Violin except at concerts and rehearsals. ”

“ After Jean Kerlin, there is a lapse of sixty years in the history of the manufacture of Violins, for the only maker of this instrument whose name has come down to us is Gaspard Duiffoprugcar, born in the Italian Tyrol, who commenced making his Violins at Bologna about 1510, working afterwards in Paris, and at Lyons. One Violin only of the large pattern which bears his name is in existence; it is dated 1539. The quality of tone of this instrument is powerful and penetrating, but when played upon for some time, it loses its intensity. Like an old man, it needs repose to recover its faculties. ”

“ Some charming bow effects are introduced, which Paganini executed with marvellous brilliancy and dexterity. The bow fluttered so nimbly over the strings, and the fingers moved so briskly and lightly, that the performance seemed one of easy accomplishment. The rondo of the “Clochette” obtained enthusiastic success throughout Europe.
The allegro of the sonata for Violin and orchestra, entitled “Movimento perpetuo,” is only remarkable as a study for detached bowing of exceedingly rapid movement, which continues until the last bar. ”

“ Hence, when, having returned to the ordinary conditions of life, and withdrawn from the manifestations of enthusiasm they have for so long a period excited, artists who come into this category decline rapidly, and present in their old age a spectacle of moral degradation, unless, by an extraordinary exception, great intellectual faculties have been united to their extraordinary talent.
Paganini felt great pleasure in a small circle of friends, and in quiet conversation. The amusements of society delighted him ”

“ Paganini purposed in each of these studies to give every style of bowing, all the difficulties of fingering, and all the combinations of harmony, upon which his school is founded. By a singular notion, nearly all these variations are written in different keys.
If the astonishing success of Paganini, the immense popularity of his name, and the influence he exercised over the talent of some of the violinists of the younger school, be considered, the high interest attached to the publication of the works with which the great artist astonished Europe, will be understood. ”

“ Adventures of every kind characterise this period of Paganini’s early days; the enthusiasm of art, love, and gambling, divided his time, despite the warnings of a delicate constitution, which proclaimed the necessity of great care. ”

“ In this position, at seventeen years of age, being at Leghorn, in 1801, he became acquainted with a wealthy Swedish amateur, whose favourite instrument was the bassoon. Complaining that he could meet with no music for his instrument, sufficiently difficult for his talent, Paganini provided him with compositions almost impracticable, for which he was richly rewarded. It was to be feared that this dissolute life would ultimately deprive the world of his marvellous talent, when an unforeseen and important circumstance, related by himself, ended his fatal passion for gambling. ”

“ There are few alive at the present day who have heard this artist in his prime, when he played at the concerts in the Rue Feydeau and at the Opera; but those artists who did will never forget the model of perfection which entranced them. It is an interesting remark, which I deem it a duty to make, that from Corelli to Rode there is no hiatus in the school—for Corelli was the master of Somis, Somis of Pugnani, Pugnani of Viotti, and Viotti of Rode.
When the talent of Rode was at its zenith, two other violinists rendered the French school illustrious. ”

“ With a people so imaginative as the Italians, so extraordinary a looking person as Paganini, his wondrous talent, and the eccentricity of his mode of life, naturally conduced to superstitious ideas, and the belief in the supernatural. Many believed he had entered into a compact with the devil. In Germany these prejudices were greater even than among the Italians. It has been seen in his letter already given what was said of him at Vienna, when he played his variations on the “Witches’ Dance.” ”