What the influence of Liszt has been, is beyond the present purpose to inquire. But, blot out Paganini and every note he has written, and he reappears in the art work of at least one great French composer, and in that of the greatest pianist the world has yet seen--one to whom the high compliment has been paid in the epithet--"The Paganini of the Pianoforte." FOOTNOTES: [37] Little is now known of this artist. He married Veronica, sister of the pianist and composer J. L. Dussek, and was the father of Pio Cianchettini, composer, who died at Cheltenham in 1851. [38] Berlioz was then thirty-five, Paganini, fifty-six years of age. [39] Aus dem Tonleben unserer Zeit, Vol. II., p. 55. [40] Künstlerleben, p. 88. [41] Life and Letters of Sir Charles Hallé, p. 69. [42] The last words of Liszt's article "Sur Paganini, A Propos de Sa Mort," published in the "Revue et Gazette Musicale de Paris," December 23, 1840. [43] Franz Liszt, Artist and Man, Vol. I., pp. 258-65. CHAPTER X. Is it worth while at this distance of time to refer to the actual playing of Paganini? Can one recall "the touch of a vanished hand?" This memoir would not be complete without some account of Paganini's art beyond that given in the story of his life. Here I do not venture to write as a violin expert, and I shall only quote from Guhr's "On Paganini's Art of Playing the Violin"--which is presumably still accessible to students--in so far as it may be serviceable to the general reader. Leaving æsthetic, and higher considerations generally, out of count for the moment and limiting our attention to matters technical, we find much that was absolutely new. As regards mere extravagance and eccentricity of execution, Paganini was surpassed by Locatelli. We have to take into consideration the concert-pitch in use at the time of Paganini's public career. That, I take it, corresponded very closely with the Diapason normal now coming into general use. Paganini employed thin strings, and, for purposes to be named presently, often tuned his violin a semitone higher than the pitch of the band which accompanied him--equivalent to the English pitch, or high pitch still in use in some places. These thin strings served another purpose--the easy production of harmonics. If there was one thing more novel than any other in Paganini's playing it was the introduction of harmonics, melodies, double notes, and double shakes in harmonics. The natural harmonics were of course known to all violinists, but the artificial harmonics, if not the invention of Paganini, were first employed by him as integral features of his compositions as well as of his performances. Then there was his particular kind of _staccato_, produced by throwing his bow forcibly on the string, "letting it spring while he runs through the scales with incredible rapidity, the tones rolling like pearls" (Guhr). The Rev. Dr. Fox said the bow seemed to act with the elasticity of a spring fixed at one end, and made to vibrate.