Niccolò Paganini
Italian violinist and composer (1782–1840)
Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; Italian: [ni(k)koˈlɔ ppaɡaˈniːni] ; 27 October 1782 – 27 May 1840) was an Italian violinist, guitarist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices for Solo Violin Op. 1 are among the best known of his compositions and have served as an inspiration for many prominent composers.
Son of a ship chandler from Genoa, Paganini showed great gifts for music from an early age and studied under Alessandro Rolla, Ferdinando Paer and Gasparo Ghiretti. Accompanied by his father, he toured northern Italy extensively as a teenager. By 1805 he had come into the service of Napoleon's sister, Elisa Bonaparte, who then ruled Lucca where Paganini was first violin. From 1809 on he returned to touring and achieved continental fame in the subsequent two and a half decades, developing a reputation for his technical brilliance and showmanship, as well as his extravagant, philandering lifestyle. Paganini ended his concert career in 1834 amid declining health, and the failure of his Paris casino left him in financial ruin. He retired and died in Nice (at that time still part of the Kingdom of Sardinia) in 1840 at the age of 57.
“Niccolò Paganini” enters the record as italian violinist and composer (1782–1840). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Niccolò, Paganini and Italian can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Niccolò Paganini” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Niccolò, Paganini and Italian provides the most credible route into that argument.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q66075. VIAF identifies the subject as 93850871. The Library of Congress control number is n79105881. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1782, 1840, 1805 and 1809.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Niccolò Paganini”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Niccolò Paganini primary sources, Niccolò Paganini archive and Niccolò research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Niccolò Paganini”?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Niccolò Paganini” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.