Paganini’s Shadow is a solo performance piece exploring the
inner life of legendary violinist Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) through composed and improvised music, and original poetry. The
ancient divinatory system of the Marseille Tarot is used to structure the
performance, much as John Cage employed the I Ching. The resulting work is a
product of chance – each performance differs in form and content, depending on
the cards drawn.
Through poetry, we enter the
imaginary landscape of Paginini’s psyche, his thoughts, memories and emotions.
Each poem in Paganini’s Shadow corresponds to one of
the twenty-two Major Arcana cards of the Tarot. Excerpts from his Twenty-Four Caprices
for Solo Violin make transitory appearances within a tapestry of improvised
music, honoring historical performance practices: the ability to improvise
variations on any theme was the calling card of the nineteenth-century
virtuoso musician.
Paganini’s Shadow addresses the theme of conflict between a performer’s public and private lives, outer appearance and inner discourse, ultimately questioning the deeper motivation behind an artist’s creative urges. Paganini’s life and work are well-documented, notably by the Gertrude Clarke Whittall Foundation Paganini Collection in the Library of Congress, Washington DC. Paganini’s Shadow blends historical fact with fiction, occupying a liminal space between fact and fiction, dreams and reality.
More than a tool for divination, the Tarot has found a place in modern psychoanalysis as a symbolic system to aid self-discovery and psychic healing. Paganini’s Shadow promotes a humane, non-voyeuristic approach to art and performance, and celebrates our own unbounded creativity.
