Niccolo Paganini: Life, illnes and virtuosity

Niccolo Pagani was born in Genoa, October 27, 1782, and died May 27, 1840. He was an Italian composer considered one of the archetypes of violin virtuosity and one of the greatest representatives of the instrumental movement of Romanticism. He contributed with his contributions to the development of the "modern violin technique". The 24 caprices for violin are one of his best known works and have served as inspiration for numerous composers. In addition to the violin, he composed music for mandolin, guitar, viola and bassoon. His duets for violin and guitar and his compositions for string quartet stand out. In this work a brief synthesis is made of the valuable contribution of the Italian school of violin in the pre-Paganini period, integrated by outstanding composers and performers. It highlights the Italian influence in the development of the art of violin playing. Paganini's biography describes his great abilities that led him to be considered as the amazing, original, unique and unrepeatable violinist in the history of music. The exceptional qualities of this musician are attributed to a genetic factor, associated to his intrinsic ability and training. A description is made of the peculiar somatic characteristics that Paganini possessed based on medical descriptions and those of some contemporary musicians. It has been hypothesized by several authors that the musician suffered from a hereditary connective tissue disorder and two possibilities have been proposed: that of a Marfan syndrome or that of an Ehlers-Landos syndrome. A summary of the clinical and biochemical criteria characterizing these conditions is presented. What seems to be well founded is that he suffered from a "joint hypermobility syndrome", the true nature of which is conjectural, even if the hypothesis of a subtype III, hypermobile Ehlers- Danlos syndrome, may be favored. This condition affected him throughout his life, but contributed to make him the unrepeatable violinist he is remembered as in the history of music.