The Paganini violin which he bequeathed to Genoa. Triumphs and tragedies of great violins

World born on October 27, 1782 famous composer and violinist Niccolo Paganini. They said that Niccolo, who did not have the calmest character, was completely transformed while playing his favorite instrument. The musician had a difficult childhood and interesting life. There are still rumors that after Niccolo’s funeral, the sounds of a violin were heard in the cemetery for many years.

Niccolo was born into a poor Genoese family. The father often locked his son in the closet so that he could learn a difficult piece. Every day, the future violinist studied music for many hours, being deprived of a normal childhood. Niccolo played his first concert at the age of 11. He performed his variations of his favorite works by composers.

Niccolo already looked very mysterious in his youth - pale skin, bruises under the eyes, painful thinness. There were rumors that the musician made a deal with the devil, and that is why he plays the violin so amazingly. In fact, Niccolo was very superstitious person and he himself was madly afraid of the devil. He even stopped visiting the gambling house because he decided that Satan was helping him win.

Each Paganini concert was not just a performance, but a whole show. The composer thought through every exit, showing various tricks such as a “accidentally” broken string or a violin that suddenly went out of tune. Niccolo often parodied the sounds of village animals, and also imitated the guitar, trumpet, flute and other instruments.

Paganini tried not to record the music he composed so that no one else could perform it. Because of this, unfortunately, not all of the maestro’s works have survived.

Niccolo was a Freemason. There are documents confirming this. In addition, the musician wrote the music of the Masonic hymn based on the words of Lancetti.

The musician was a collector. He collected violins, and among the many examples of the instrument were such treasures as a Stradivarius, Guarneri and Amati violin. He loved his Guarneri violin so much that he bequeathed it to the city of Genoa so that no musician would play it after his death. This violin was called “The Widow of Paganini”.

Paganini was very absent-minded person. He did not remember the year of his birth, he forgot how many brothers he had, but he always said that his memory was in his hands and belonged entirely to music.

For Emperor Napoleon's birthday, Paganini wrote a sonata for one string for him. For Niccolò, a broken string during a concert was not a hindrance - he could play the same piece even if all the strings were present, or if one or two were missing.

Niccolo studied music 14-16 hours a day. He forgot about food and sleep, training all day long.

You can often hear the legend about the incorruptibility of the maestro. 56 years after his death, Niccolo’s body showed no signs of decomposition, which was confirmed by several people involved in the reburial of the composer and musician. And this definitely suggests that Paganini is certainly not an ordinary person.

The personality of Niccolo Paganini has always attracted the attention of the public; some saw him as a real genius, while others saw him as a fraud, refusing to believe in such an extraordinary talent. The whole life of the great musician is shrouded in secrets and omissions that accompanied him everywhere. But no one can deny the fact that he was a real Maestro.

short biography

The future musician was born in Genoa on October 27, 1782. His father was a small merchant, but at the same time, Antonio Paganini was very fond of music and dreamed of his son becoming a great musician. Niccolò devoted almost his entire childhood to playing the instrument. By nature he had an unusually keen ear, and every day his father realized that Niccolo would become a true virtuoso, so it was decided to hire him a professional teacher.

The secret of Paganini's extraordinary talent

Legends have always circulated around Paganini’s extraordinary talent, and all sorts of stories were invented by contemporaries to try to explain it brilliant game On the violin. Conspiracy with otherworldly forces, a special operation, fraud - all these rumors are just a small part of the many others that surrounded the musician. American doctor Myron Schoenfeld also tried to explain the secret of the maestro’s violin technique. In his opinion, the whole point is a hereditary disease from which Paganini suffered.

Films about Paganini

If we talk about films dedicated to the brilliant musician, then it is worth highlighting the work of Leonid Menaker “Niccolò Paganini” (1982). It was filmed based on the work of A.K. Vinogradov “The Condemnation of Paganini” and was specially dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the Maestro’s birth. This is a four-part film telling about the life of the legendary violinist, his feelings, experiences, creativity, helping to understand his mystical and multifaceted nature. The violin part was performed by Leonid Kogan. It is known that the director initially wanted to invite him to the main role famous conductor Yuri Temirkanov, but he did not agree.

Another notable work is the film “Paganini” (1989) by Klaus Kinski. It is noteworthy that this is his only experience as a director. He also played the main role, playing the great musician. Klaus Kinski showed the amazing Paganini, whose life balanced on the edge of the abyss. No one has ever seen such a violinist.

Bernard Rose's drama Paganini: The Devil's Violinist captivated the world in 2013. Main role performed famous performer David Garrett. The director took as a basis the rumors that circulated at one time about the Italian violinist. After all, many of his contemporaries were sure that he sold his soul to the devil and received an extraordinary gift. On his way, Paganini meets a beautiful girl, but will he be able to know happiness? This film reveals some mysteries from the life of the Maestro.

This is probably the dream of any violinist, any musician, even if he has tried to recover from alcoholism, to take possession of the violin that the great maestro Nicolo Paganini once played. This is the same violin that, according to contemporaries, was given to the maestro by the devil after Paganini signed a contract with him. Mysticism, but they believed in it, they talked about it, they whispered about it in corners. But they still went to the violinist’s concert to hear him perform. And it was simply divine. He knew how to squeeze out sounds from his violin that no one had tried to squeeze out before, and no one had even tried, but he could.

But why did they always try to connect his name with the devil? Most likely because of his appearance. He was not a very nice person, as they said, “a hunchback with a cat’s eye,” but that’s because he actually suffered from a genetic disease – Morphan’s disease. That's why he had poor eyesight, elongated fingers and completely bad with the aorta. But he had large collection the violins he played. And the violins were famous masters Stradivarius, Amati, Guarneri, who worked on them. These masters knew how to create amazing violins, and he understood this. He felt each of them, and thanks to this he could calmly identify from them such roulades of sounds, which no one had ever imagined doing before.

But in fact, everything began with him just like with Mozart. His father fussed with him early childhood. Only if Mozart’s father forced his child to study music from morning to evening, then Paganini’s father demanded to study music all day long. It is true that in both cases the children themselves were interested. They were both interested in looking for something new in what was there and inventing something new that had never existed before. But Mozart did it on the harpsichord, and Paganini on the violin.

Paganini proved with his art that a small violin has its own soul and its own feelings. In his hands, the violin came to life and gave out either cheerful melodies, sad ones, and sometimes alarming trills. A light melody sounded and suddenly broke off into the abyss of grief.

When Paganini died, his violin was with him. And when he no longer had the strength to hold it in his hands, he simply plucked its strings. Because of rumors that no one could refute, the coffin with the body could not be buried. In general, the story is unprecedented. This have not happened before! He died in 1840, and they could only bury him at the very end of the 1890s. The thing is that the Catholic priests refused to bury his body because they considered him an intermediary of the devil. It took the intervention of the Pope before he was finally buried. And the violin, which was next to him until his death, received a new name - “The Widow of Paganini.”

Why do some of the world's great violinists prefer to play Stradivarius instruments, while others prefer to play Guarneri instruments? What is the difference between Stradivarius and Guarneri?

Let's immediately clarify that Stradivari and Guarneri represented entire families violin makers and if we look at the catalog of Italian violin makers compiled by Karel Jalowiec, we will see that the Guarneri family is represented by ten different masters, and the Stradivari family by at least three. The most famous representatives These surnames are considered to be Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri Del Gesù. It is believed that there are about 650 Stradivarius violins and about 140 Guarneri violins preserved in the world.

Antonio Stradivari was born in 1644 in Cremona. WITH early age began to learn the art of making musical instruments. A violin with the label “Antonio Stradivari student Nicolo Amati” made by the great Italian at the age of 13 has been preserved. Researchers of Stradivari's work have not come to a consensus on whether he can be considered a student of Amati. In 1667, Stradivari began working in his own workshop. WITH early youth he showed outstanding talent and hard work, as evidenced by orders for the production of entire orchestras and string quartets bowed instruments from the kings of Spain, England, Poland. Stradivari made not only violins, violas and cellos, but also harps, guitars, and zithers. Contemporaries considered Antonio Stradivari stingy and gloomy. He was incredibly rich and constantly busy making tools. Perhaps they envied him; there is even a saying about this: “Rich as Stradivarius.” He lived to be 93 years old and had 11 children. Only two of his sons, Francesco and Omobone, continued their father's work, but did not achieve significant results after his death. On one of the most famous instruments The Stradivarius cello “Duport” (1711) was played from 1974 to 2007 by Mstislav Rostropovich, who called it his “lover”. After the musician's death, Duport was purchased for $20 million by the Japan Music Association.

Guarneri (Guarnieri, Guarneri or Guarnerius), famous family Italian masters bowed instruments of the 17th-18th centuries. The most famous is Giuseppe Guarneri (1698 - 1744), nicknamed Guarneri Del Gesu. Although Andrea, Pietro Giovanni (Mantuan) and Pietro (Venetian) created quite a few masterpieces during their lives, the instruments of the Guarneri Del Gesu came close, and, according to some musicians and experts, even surpassed the Stradivarius violins. Guarneri Del Gesù lived only 46 years. He signed the violins with the monogram “IHS”, which is one of the sacred signs of Christ - “Jesus Christ the Savior”. That is why Giuseppe Guarneri is called Guarneri del Jesu, which means “Guarneri of Jesus”. It is believed that he worked and lived in a monastery and belonged to a religious order.

What is the phenomenon of small Italian city Cremona, which gave the world a galaxy of great violin makers? This secret still remains unsolved. Versions about “small ice age", which influenced the density of wood, attempts to discover the secret of manufacturing and applying varnish and other scattered studies do not provide full picture the success of the great Italian violin makers.

Amati and Stradivari violins were valued during the lifetime of these great masters, and Giuseppe Guarneri Del Gesu became famous after his death mainly due to his no less to the famous fellow countryman Niccolo Paganini.

IN early XIX century, the violin became extremely popular in Europe. Such interest was caused by the triumphal tours of Niccolo Paganini. The violinist had seven or nine instruments made by Stradivarius, violins made by Tyrolean masters, and possibly also instruments made by Vilhaume. But one day, after a concert, a certain sugar merchant offered Paganini to buy a violin by a little-known master at that time, Giuseppe Guarneri, on the bottom of which was the sign “I. H.S.” Great musician fell in love with the Guarneri violin, named it “Cannone” for its deadly power of sound and bequeathed it to his hometown of Genoa. After such advertising, Guarneri del Gesù instruments began to be valued no less than the creations of Stradivarius. Today, the violin named “Cannon” is still kept in one of the museums of Genoa and is insured for 3 million euros. They look after it, and from time to time they let talented young violinists play it.

In May 1999, “Pushka” was brought to Kyiv. The famous Ukrainian violinist Bogodar Kotorovich played a concert on the legendary violin at the Opera House.

This is how he spoke about the violin that belonged to Paganini: “...You know, when I took Paganini’s violin in my hands, the first thing I felt was disappointment: after all, I usually play an exact copy of it by the master Villioma. At the rehearsal, “Cannon” did not make much of an impression, but later, at the concert, it simply transformed. It was inexplicable, and not without mysticism. When I was playing, I suddenly felt as if someone was playing behind me. I felt only sounds, maybe it was an illusion, a fantasy, but it seemed to me that a double was standing behind me. Remember, when Paganini was depicted with a violin, they depicted the devil playing behind him..."

An unprecedented price was paid for the violin. sum insured The deposit is 4 million dollars, but the true value of this instrument cannot be established, this violin is priceless!

Vadim Repin is called the “Russian Paganini”; in one of the interviews he was asked about his impressions of playing Stradivarius and Guarneri violins.

“...On the one hand, Stradivarius are violins that sound on their own, they have an incredibly magical sound, as if in heaven. Guarneri violins, in my opinion, have a slightly wider range of sound palette. You can even growl or bark on Guarneri violins, and at the same time, they have incredible magical sound properties. Guarneri violins require more high level mastery of playing the violin, but at the same time they give more opportunity to reveal their personality. Stradivarius violins always sound beautiful, but it’s as if they are trying to impose their qualities on those who play them... If we look at the history of violin performance, the greatest violinists (Kreisler, Heifetz, Stern, Kogan, Milstein and others) preferred to play Guarneri violins , with the exception of a few (for example, Oistrakh, who preferred Stradivarius). It’s also worth mentioning that the Guarneri violin is twice as expensive.”

Leonid Kogan preferred an instrument made by the Cremonese master Guarneri del Gesu. On such a violin, purchased in 1958, he performed the off-screen “role” of the great Italian in Leonid Menaker’s film “Niccolò Paganini.” All his life he sought to unravel the phenomenon of the “violinist-devil.” Like Paganini, he preferred the instrument made by Guarneri del Gesù to Stradivarius violins, believing that “its complexity and the advantage of making the sound yourself, with them the individual sound of the violinist reaches the listener over time much more fully and easily than with Stradivari."

Yehudi Menuhin, Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zuckerman played the Vietang violin made by Guarneri in 1741.

Anne-Sophie Mutter owns two Stradivarius violins (The Emiliani (1703), and Lord Dunn-Raven (1710), Ida Handel also prefers Stradivarius violins.

But for example, the world-famous violist Yuri Bashmet has not changed his viola from the Italian master Paolo Testore (Milan, 1758) for many years.

Sound tests, when performers play behind a curtain and experts evaluate instruments based on sound, usually end with even reputable experts making mistakes and putting first place violins that have nothing to do with top-class instruments.

Who needs it today antique piano? It is impossible to play on it. Over the years
the sound is lost and fades away. A piano with a “biography” may be of interest
perhaps as a piece of furniture or an exhibit of some historical museum.
But violins... These instruments, the work of great masters, do not lose over the centuries
nobility, depth, brilliance, softness and power of sound. And like life stories themselves
masters, the fate of great instruments is sometimes full of drama. Like others
precious works of art, antique violins are stolen and forged, in
they fall in love and they are hated... This is what our article is about.

Signor's loss and gain
Paganini

In the fall of 1800, an awkward, thin young man entered a tavern in the city of Livorno.
man with a violin case in his hands. At one of the tables they were playing cards.
The young man joined the game. He was unlucky: the money was quickly melting away, and
Soon the young man was left penniless. Then he bet his violin,
explaining that it is quite expensive. The gamblers agreed, and the violin was immediately
lost. The young man asked to return her for at least a day, citing
evening concert, but they only laughed at him:
“You put it on the line yourself!
We didn’t force you!” Then an elderly Frenchman approached the unlucky player
from the next table. “I am a simple merchant from Paris,” he said, “but I love
music and attended your concerts. You are Signor Niccolo Paganini. So,
your violin is not the best. Don't regret it. I'll give you another one for the evening. Her
didn't do it to anyone famous master Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, but maybe
You will like her sound."
The sound of this violin made seventeen-year-old Paganini
fascinated. The Parisian merchant, whose name was not preserved, was also shocked by his performance.
story. After the concert, he refused to take the violin back, giving it as a gift
to a young genius. “It’s not for me, a modest amateur, to play on it,” he said.
This
The Guarneri violin accompanied Paganini all his life. Just one time before
concert in Paris, she “fell ill”, and Paganini took her to the violin maker
William (we will return to him later). William managed to “cure” the violin, and
Touched Paganini hugged him and handed him a precious box. "I had two
boxes like this,” he explained. – I gave one to the doctor who healed my body,
I give the second to you, who healed your soul.”
Until his death, Paganini never
I parted with this Guarneri violin. He bequeathed it to the museum hometown Genoa.
There she can still be seen today under the name “Widow of Paganini.” Only if you go to Genoa
arrives outstanding violinist, he is allowed to play on it.

Mysterious Prisoner

Stradivarius violin
from the collection of the Royal Palace of Madrid

So who is he, the same master Giuseppe Guarneri, nicknamed del Gesu and
who created the violin that made Paganini famous? Why did the Parisian merchant call him
“unknown to anyone”?
Very little is known about Giuseppe Guarneri today.
except that the year of birth is 1698. But it is clear that Antonio himself was jealous of him
Stradivari. He said that his own violins, although superior
Guarneri instruments have softness and brilliance of sound, but are inferior to them in sound power.
True, Stradivari knew that Guarneri was considered a drunkard and a brawler, which means
He believed that he would not see any serious customers. Moreover, Stradivarius was very
rich. There was even a saying in use in Cremona: “rich as Stradivarius.” But still
envy did not leave him until the end of his days.
However, Guarneri was arrested and
imprisoned (for what offense no one knows). From the dungeon he
never left, and died there in 1744. But even in prison the master continued to create
violins - materials and tools for work were brought to him by the jailer, then
selling Guarneri's creations for next to nothing. Well-deserved fame came to del Gesu
only after death...

The order to “take away and
divide"

Edgar Bundy.
"Antonio Stradivarius". 1893

The fate of Antonio Stradivari's instruments also cannot be called cloudless.
There are quite a few of his instruments left in the world, about a thousand. And many of them
opened, trying to copy, but to no avail. No one managed to get into
secrets of divine sound. There is a legend that the soul lives in these violins
Stradivari...
During Soviet times in Russia, the Bolsheviks simply ordered
confiscate all Stradivarius instruments, no matter who has them, and
"nationalize" them. A familiar song, isn't it? The famous “take away and
divide” Comrade Sharikov. True, as you know, the future Sharikov played
balalaika in taverns and hardly suspected the existence of Stradivarius, but the essence
It doesn't change things.
So, in May 1920, an employee of the Cheka, a certain Prokofiev (not
confused with the composer!), got off the train onto the station square in Odessa. IN
in the pocket of his tunic lay a remarkable document signed by one of
Bolshevik leaders (we will not name names so that these figures do not have
glory of Herostratus). The text was as follows: “Give the giver of this, Comrade Prokofiev
a separate cool carriage for travel to Odessa and back.”
Why did you come to
Odessa privileged passenger? Yes, with the same notorious order -
find and confiscate all Stradivarius violins preserved in Odessa. Running in
forward, we can say that he and similar “confiscators” have achieved considerable
success in this field. Some of the instruments were lost or disappeared without a trace.
era. It is fortunate that, through the efforts of enthusiasts, many great violins have been
save. Some instruments formed the basis of the State Collection
unique musical instruments. Here is a violin from 1628 by Antonio and
Girolamo Amati, and the cello of Stradivari's teacher - Nicolo Amati... In the collection and
Stradivari's own viola, worthy of being ranked among the best tools peace.
He belonged famous philanthropist Zhivago and was discovered in his house at the Nikitskys
gate in Moscow. It is clear that the heirs of the patron of arts demand the return of their
legal ownership hardly makes sense. It’s good that the viola survived altogether.
There is also a Stradivarius violin “Yusupov”. It was brought from Italy by Prince
Yusupov. She was found by chance in a hiding place in the Yusupov Palace.

Counterfeits and
kidnapping

In 1767, Ivan Andreevich Batov was born into the family of serfs of Count Sheremetev.
who was destined to become one of the famous violin makers, the “Russian
Stradivarius,” as he was called. He studied in Moscow, with master Vladimirov, and
soon presented Sheremetev with a cello of his work, “ beautiful body and soul."
The touched count gave Batov his freedom. He opened a workshop and until the end of his life
created violins that were used incredible success both in Russia and abroad.
Well, how can scammers resist the temptation! They bought cheap Saxon violins,
They put the Baht stamp on them and sold them - of course, at a different price.
A
here is the story of one of the amazing violins - it was believed that it was made by an Italian
a master named Duiffoprugar. This is the world's first instrument maker,
now called violins. IN late XIX centuries of authentic Gaspard instruments
There were only five known Duiffoprugars, among them a violin from 1510, donated
Francis I. Is it necessary to mention their immeasurable value... And here is the sensation:
Another violin discovered! A lovely instrument with a scroll decorated
carved human head, and gold letters on the sides: “I once lived in
forests, alive I was silent, but dead I sing tenderly.” Decorated the lower deck
painting
oil... For a long time researchers did not doubt the author's affiliation
this violin. However, it turned out that this was just an excellent fake, and created
hers is none other than... the French master Vuillaume. Yes, yes, that same William,
healed Paganini's violin! Truly, the ways of creators are inscrutable...
But somehow
be that as it may, William is a master. Ordinary swindlers don’t bother with sound and varnish
They will, just to sell it to them - quickly and at a higher price. This is tragic fate
Stradivarius violin, which belonged to Alexander I and after his death was placed in
Hermitage Museum. She was kidnapped from there, and when the instrument was found in Germany, it turned out that
thieves washed off the unique “coral” varnish for camouflage purposes... Now this violin
returned to Russia, but only as Museum exhibit. The magic sound is lost
forever.

The mystery of varnish
Stradivarius

What kind of varnish did the ignorant thieves wash off from the great master’s violin? IN
what is the secret of varnish of Stradivarius and other old Italian masters? It is only known
that this varnish (or rather, several types of it, each master has his own) was different
special properties that no one has yet been able to replicate. Many specialists
consider the disappearance of balsam pine and
"dragon's blood" - a transparent dark red resin, soluble in essential oils
oils It is alleged that the old Italians extracted varnishes from both sandalwood and
saffron
In addition to the varnish, the wood itself was, of course, also an important component.
French scientist Jacques Savard proved that the speed of sound propagation in
spruce wood exceeds that in the air by 15 times. They took it on the lower deck
usually maple. Ebony went to the bar... But in two centuries they almost completely disappeared
"musical" forests. The same William, in search of the right tree, was forced
drive around markets and buy old tables and benches. In a word, no matter how much
“dissected” ancient violins, no matter how many of their secrets were guessed,
So far, no one has succeeded in surpassing or even simply copying their wonderful sound.
whom. And is it possible to repeat the magic?

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