Paganini

Paganini, Nicolo, was born at Genoa in 1784, and at the age of nine made his first public appearance with complete success, but he passed the next twelve years in study and composition. He then began a series of tours through Europe, exciting astonishment everywhere by his marvellous performances. It was not, however, until 1831 that he played in Paris and London. The zenith of his fame was reached in 1834, when Berlioz composed for him the well-known symphony Harold en Italie. His health soon after declined, and he died in 1840, at Nice, of laryngeal consumption.