How Paganini Got His Favorite Violin

By seventeen, Niccolò Paganini was already living on applause—and spending it just as fast. Once he broke free of his father’s strict control, he plunged into the nightlife of the time, especially gambling. More than once he lost the earnings of several concerts in a single night, and he even had to pawn his violin to cover debts.

A concert in Leghorn (Livorno) nearly wrecked him: his violin was in pawn, so he needed to borrow one. He heard that a French merchant owned an exceptional Guarneri and asked for the loan. The merchant agreed and placed the valuable instrument in Paganini’s hands.

After the concert, Paganini returned the violin. The merchant—himself a capable violinist—was so stunned that he exclaimed: “I will never profane the strings your fingers have touched. The instrument is yours!”

Paganini used that Guarneri throughout his career and later left it to his native Genoa, where it was kept under glass. It was reportedly played only once after his death, by his pupil Camillo Sivori (d. 1894).