Until his death in Nice in 1840, Nicoló Paganini due to his illness went through a very difficult process due to his discomforts and physical disability, he has a combination of 3 diseases that were tuberculosis, syphilis, and rheumatism, and retiring from the stage was his only option.
When you want to be the conductor of the orchestra of the court of Parma in Italy, he had a failed attempt and was also pointed out after going through a series of professional disappointments that marked his life.
By 1837 a casino was not a gambling establishment, it was also a place for public meetings and for acts of dances and concerts, so this site called casino became a great investment for that moment. Paganini was involved in a series of judicial problems shortly after this opening and until the day of his death this problem pursued him from the moment he declared bankruptcy.
Paganini declared himself an inveterate gambling addict
This gambling addict lived in abstemiously and made many trips on which instead of arriving at a hotel equipped in urban sites, he preferred a road inn for his stay. A biography of Paganini de Courcy written in a biographical essay pointed out this violinist addicted to gambling, who rarely found himself in difficulties, and who often felt lost in several concerts on a fruitful night and was only able to break free in his art.
A new testament was made by Paganini in the year 1837 where he named his son Achilles as an executor who by then was justified, to administer 2 trusts for a total of 125,000 lire.
An occasional secretary, apart from Paganini’s old friend named Lazzaro Rebizzo in 1835, made plans to open a new casino together with other businessmen in the city of Paris. Rebizzo invited him to be director and co-investor of music to Paganini. Paganini hugged all the arts and attended educated classes while waiting in his concert hall.
A hall for dances and concerts, plus a library and a workshop for the publication of literary works, was the main idea to make the casino as a kind of clubhouse. But in the end it became a space for billiards and games in the middle of cabinets, restrooms,and rooms, so the comparison was made with an extravagant establishment. All these descriptions were pointed out by Courcy.
Games, rooms and much more, had the Paganini Casino, including of course billiards
Cesari Pugni was hired as a violinist and conductor of the orchestra instead of Paganini. As it was not evident a great success in this concert, it was postponed by the casino directors, and instead, they decided to sponsor a concert in which Paganini was better so that their usual audience would attend.
He had to retire the day of the concert because he was sick, and although his concert was very well announced, he could not be present and at the last moment, the directors decide to carry out the participation of the Paris Opera choir. And because of this, the casino was closed on January 31, just after two months of its opening, by the competent authorities for not having a casino operating license in effect to cover this function.
This final closing was in the concert offered at the casino with a Dame-San Felice and a singer, for an amount of 9,000 francs, which had been stipulated as annual payment in a contract signed with the owners of the establishment.
They realized that a breach of contract occurred, due to the closure issued by the competent authorities and to demand all of their income they decided to make a claim against the casino. So a liquidation of the company was carried out by the decision of the owners.
San Felice was awarded with an amount of 6000 francs, for an opinion issued by a court on June 3, 1839, with 3,075 francs Pacini had to be awarded, since he was a composer who gave the casino supplies of compositions and for a merchant which sold velvet to be upholstered the dressing table called Despreaux, 520 francs were awarded.
To 3,280 francs for San Felice and 1,000 francs for Pacini, the amount awarded after an appeal was issued, and as a fine for filing the final appeal, San Felice obtained a fine of 50 francs. Only 50 cents was the additional amount given to her through a handwritten copy of the summary. On the last page of this document, specifically in the lower-left corner appears your name and address.
This text where the judicial proceedings were stipulated was translated by Francisco Ackerman, and as issued in this text the name of Paganini is hardly named and no measures were taken against him. Paganini has transferred the rights of Dame San Felice, so she ceased to be a creditor of Pentiville Corporation and Fumagalli.
According to the existence of this document, in front of Paganini, society could not be forced and only the measures that had already been duly notified could be carried out, since, with respect to any other document, it had not been done any representation, and also, had not notarized any document, or in any other way signed by Paganini, so the evidence that he was empowered by Dame San Felice should be considered unfounded and unjustified, taking into account the exception that by Fleury was raised.
A claim for not complying as a player, conductor, and with his responsibilities acquired as a musical director, was issued against Paganini, and this demand was for an amount of 100,000 francs, which were divided into 10,000 francs for each instance and by the casino directors who claimed that the required functions and for which he had been hired had not been exercised.
This case and these accusations were protagonists in the first portals of the Paris newspapers, and on March 23, 1838, a letter sent by Paganini was published, a letter directly to the editor of the newspaper “De Le Droit”, where He defended himself against all these accusations and pleaded not guilty.
Conclusion
Paganini was sent involved in a large number of conflicts, apart from the fact that he had to pay all legal representation to the courts; he lost all his investment capital. Even when he was dying, a lot of accusations and very cumbersome processes pursued him until his last moment.
It is not known if his son Achilles, also his executor, paid at some point the fine imposed on Paganini, after his death on May 27, 1840, or if he finally reached an agreement with Paganini’s old friend called Rebizzo. All these reasons were the causes of a major failure in the life of this character.
In a world where melodies and sonatas ruled, Nicoló Paganini, the virtuoso violinist, danced to a different tune. Lauded for his unparalleled skills with the violin, his life off the stage was a contrasting symphony of chaos, particularly his gamble with, well, gambling.
Dive back to 1837. Casinos weren’t just dens of dice and cards. They were cultural epicenters – melanges of music, dance, and intellectual pursuits. The allure was irresistible for many elites, and Paganini, with his commanding presence in the world of music, envisioned this as his next opus.
With dreams of grandeur, Paganini, hand in hand with Lazzaro Rebizzo, an old companion, embarked on a venture to establish a casino in the heart of Paris. The blueprint was ambitious: a haven for arts with resplendent dance floors, concert spaces, and expansive libraries. Yet, as the curtains rose, the scene shifted. The casino metamorphosed into a more conventional gaming house – billiards, lavish gaming rooms, and the intoxicating thrill of the gamble.
This deviation would be their undoing. In an era where rules weren’t mere guidelines, the establishment often danced on the razor’s edge of legality. Their audacity peaked when a highly anticipated concert by Paganini was abruptly replaced with a performance by the Paris Opera choir. This miscalculation was their swan song; just two lunar cycles later, the establishment’s doors were shuttered.
The aftermath was a cacophony of legal altercations. Accusations flew, ensnaring not just Paganini but an ensemble of associates. The maestro faced a dual battle – one against declining health, and another against a tarnished reputation and shrinking coffers.
This chapter in Paganini’s life, though discordant, serves as a poignant interlude in the grand composition of his existence. It’s a testament to life’s unpredictable cadence, where even luminaries can momentarily lose their way. While his dalliance with the casino realm proved calamitous, the melodies of his violin remained untouched, echoing the undying spirit of human artistry.
In the chronicles of Paganini, the casino fiasco might be a brief, jarring note. Yet, it underscores the crescendos and decrescendos of life, reminding us that it’s the entire composition, not just individual notes, that creates an unforgettable symphony.