Violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini was so talented that people believed he sold his soul to the Devil.

Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840) was a Genoese violinist whose technical abilities redefined the instrument. Modern medical historians, such as Dr. Myron Schoenfeld, suggest Paganini likely suffered from Marfan Syndrome or Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. These connective tissue disorders result in elongated limbs and hypermobile joints. For Paganini, this meant he could span three octaves on the violin fingerboard without shifting his hand, a reach of about 10 inches or the width of a standard dinner plate.His most famous work, the '24 Caprices for Solo Violin' composed between 1802 and 1817, remains a benchmark of technical difficulty. He utilized advanced techniques like left-hand pizzicato and multi-stop harmonics that were virtually unknown to his contemporaries. These innovations created a wall of sound that led audiences to believe multiple violins were playing at once. His 1828 European tour cemented his status as a legend, as he performed 151 concerts in 14 months across various countries.Paganini was also a master of self-marketing and psychological branding. He often performed by candlelight to cast long, eerie shadows and cultivated a gaunt, skeletal appearance. When he died in Nice in 1840, the Bishop of Nice refused a religious burial due to the persistent rumors of his demonic pact. It took 36 years of appeals by his family before his body was finally laid to rest in a consecrated cemetery in Parma, Italy, in 1876.