engleski

Paganini and illness – identity of an artist or identity of a society?

Throughout history, epidemics of various illnesses have been considered as the leading moderators of demographic, social and economic development, primarily because of their influence on mortality and natality, but also on the nuptiality rate and the health care development. While scientific attention has usually been focused on the analysis of the demographic, socio-economical and political consequences of various illnesses in society and on societal response to them – which interdisciplinarily connects the fields of history, demography, sociology, anthropology and medicine – this paper focuses on the influence of an illness on the life of an individual, the musician Niccolò Paganini. In March 1832, when cholera was at its peak in Paris, Paganini found himself in the city where he had to cancel his performances due to the devastating epidemic. The artist lived with a number of illnesses: tuberculosis, syphilis, and possibly the Marfan syndrome. They affected his life, his creativity, and maybe even his virtuosity in a number of ways: as a direct consequence of the symptoms, through Paganini’s perception of the illnesses, as well as through the viscious circle of taking insufficiently researched medications whose side effects generated new health problems, which in turn required more medication. The subject is analysed within the framework of the theory of pathocenosis, and and an attempt is made to create the theoretical foundation for a more thorough examination of Paganini’s writing and performing of music.

illness; identity; Paganini; pathocenosis

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