Paganini/Beethoven

[Joy]

1782-May 27th,1840 -- Italian violin virtuoso and composer Niccolo Paganini dies in Nice at age 57.
I'm wondering if Beethoven knew of him and what he thought of his violin genius! Also what did Paganini die from at the early age of 57?

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'Truth and beauty joined'

[Amalie]

Originally posted by Joy:
1782-May 27th,1840 -- Italian violin virtuoso and composer Niccolo Paganini dies in Nice at age 57.
I'm wondering if Beethoven knew of him and what he thought of his violin genius! Also what did Paganini die from at the early age of 57?

Joy, I believe poor Paganini died of cancer of the larynx.



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~ Courage, so it be righteous, will gain all things ~

[Peter]

Originally posted by Joy:
1782-May 27th,1840 -- Italian violin virtuoso and composer Niccolo Paganini dies in Nice at age 57.
I'm wondering if Beethoven knew of him and what he thought of his violin genius! Also what did Paganini die from at the early age of 57?

Paganini didn't arrive in Vienna intil 1828 when he took the city by storm! Had Beethoven lived just two more years he could also have met Chopin who toured Vienna in 1829.

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'Man know thyself'

[Joy]

Thanks Amalie! Yes, Peter I knew he toured in 1828 but I was just wondering if Beethoven knew of him in his lifetime and what he thought of his talents.

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'Truth and beauty joined'

[Peter]

Originally posted by Joy:
Thanks Amalie! Yes, Peter I knew he toured in 1828 but I was just wondering if Beethoven knew of him in his lifetime and what he thought of his talents.

It is possible but unlikely Joy - it wasn't until Paganini was in his late 40s that he decided his technical wizardry should be displayed to a wider European audience in the late 1820's and early 1830s. In any case Beethoven is hardly likely to have been greatly impressed as he was no fan of mere virtuosity and technical gimmicks as he probably would have seen it!

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'Man know thyself'

[This message has been edited by Peter (edited 05-28-2005).]

[Hofrat]

Originally posted by Peter:
Paganini didn't arrive in Vienna until 1828 when he took the city by storm! Had Beethoven lived just two more years he could also have met Chopin who toured Vienna in 1829.

As for Chopin, it seems that Schubert had heard of him. Apparently, Schubert was in possession of a Chopin score. It is told that Schubert plopped the score in front of his close circle of friends and declared: "a genius!!" I have no idea how true that story is.

Hofrat

[Droell]

Originally posted by Joy:
Thanks Amalie! Yes, Peter I knew he toured in 1828 but I was just wondering if Beethoven knew of him in his lifetime and what he thought of his talents.

B was unlikely to have thought anything at all. He was stone deaf at the time.

On the other hand, he might well have responded to a published score.

[This message has been edited by Droell (edited 06-02-2005).]

[Peter]

Originally posted by Droell:

B was unlikely to have thought anything at all. He was stone deaf at the time.

On the other hand, he might well have responded to a published score.

[This message has been edited by Droell (edited 06-02-2005).]

Well in 1828 Beethoven was stone dead, but seriously Joy's question was more to do with Paganini's reputation which I don't think really became widespread until the 1830s though he had been famous in Italy since the turn of the century. Paganini had written the incredibly influential 24 Caprices as early as 1805 but these he witheld from publication until 1830.

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'Man know thyself'

[Uniqor]

talking about the violin... was beethoven good at it? or was it viola? could he play the cello as well? soz haven't got any anwsers but only questions here

[spaceray]

Originally posted by Amalie:
Joy, I believe poor Paganini died of cancer of the larynx.

Do you folks know the grisly story of Mr Paganini's remains? He was one of the first experiments in modern enbalming.His son could not inter him in a Catholic cemetary until the Church in Rome gave the OK ,his body was in three coffins and was stored for as many years. Finally the Church gave the ok and his body was laid to rest in Italy I believe.

[Chris]

Originally posted by Uniqor:
talking about the violin... was beethoven good at it? or was it viola? could he play the cello as well? soz haven't got any anwsers but only questions here

Beethoven played the viola in the Bonn Orchestra, so I think it's safe to say he was pretty good. Probably at the violin as well. I'm sure he could play the cello, but I don't know how well. I'm pretty sure not as well as the viola.

[This message has been edited by Chris (edited 06-03-2005).]

[Uniqor]

genius. what about the winds, could he blow anything at all?

[Opus131]

Originally posted by Uniqor:
genius. what about the winds, could he blow anything at all?

I don't know about the winds, but he could defenatly blow things, away that is :P

[This message has been edited by Opus131 (edited 06-27-2005).]