The Devil’s Violinist

In the early 1830s Niccolo Paganini, the great virtuoso violinist, takes Europe by storm. “I am at present marveling at the astounding miracles performed by Paganini,” writes Balzac. “Do not imagine that it is merely a question of his bowing, his fingering, or the fantastic sounds he draws from his violin. There is, beyond all doubt, something mysterious about this man.”