The Capriccio Diabolico, Op. 85 by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, composed in 1935 for Andrés Segovia, is a cornerstone of twentieth-century guitar literature for its technical ambition and symbolic depth. Subtitled “Homage to Niccolò Paganini,” it is not a celebratory tribute but a true confrontation with the Romantic myth of the “diabolical” virtuoso, a figure considered almost superhuman for his technique, expressiveness, and dark aura. Castelnuovo-Tedesco transfers this image to the guitar—an in