born Oct. 27, 1782, Genoa, Republic of Genoa died May 27, 1840, Nice, France Italian violinist and composer. A prodigy, he joined an orchestra by age nine. He toured Italy (1810-28), renowned as its greatest violin virtuoso. His long-deferred international tour (1830-34) met with sensational success. Paganini's romantic personality and adventures created in his own day the legend of a Mephistophelean figure. He greatly extended violin technique, employing a wide use of harmonics, pizzicato effects, and new methods of fingering and even of tuning. His numerous compositions include 24 Caprices (1801-07) for solo violin, displaying the novel features of his technique, and six violin concertos