Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: violin

  • Nicolo Paganini—a case of mercury poisoning?

    Nicolo Paganini, the greatest violin virtuoso ever, was born in the Republic of Genoa in 1782. At age five he learned to play the mandolin and at seven the violin. When his city was invaded by the French Revolutionary Army in 1796, his family fled the city but later returned, and by age eighteen, Paganini…

  • The interrupted concerto: Jacqueline du Pré and MS

    Lea C. DacyMoses RodriguezRochester, Minnesota, United States Although promoted as a “comeback,” it was almost her last public performance. In February 1973, the late Jacqueline du Pré performed the Elgar Cello Concerto in London with the New Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta. The concerto had been closely associated with du Pré since her landmark…