Abstract
Carlo Alberto Pagni, born in La Spezia, Italy, on February 13, 1931, was an eminent and respected professor of neurosurgery and chairman of the neurosurgical clinic of the University of Turin from 1980 to 2003. He died on March 1, 2009. As a professor of neurology and neurological surgery he was renowned as an expert on vascular, tumor, and functional neurosurgery. Beyond the Italian Neurosurgical Society, he was the doyen of functional neurosurgery, specializing in motor cortex stimulation for the treatment of focal dystonia, Parkinson’s disease, and postictal spasticity and pain. His home was his castle, and his family was fundamental to his life. He shared with his wife, Sandra, his passion for piano playing and for their remarkable library, and together with friends, he and his wife enjoyed dinners with fine food and Barolo wines. Listening to this Grand Seigneur talking about and explaining the music of, above all, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Richard Wagner, one felt he was emotionally just “music and mind”. You can imagine this from his books on music, chess, and neuroscience. Indeed, he adored playing correspondence chess worldwide. A sportsman too, he loved hiking, mountaineering, skiing, swimming, and fishing. Nature was his source for slowing down, for regenerating, and for collecting his strength for new projects and new challenges. Friends will remember Dr. Pagni as a Grand Seigneur.
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Acknowledgments
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, copyright K. von Wild 2015. Figures. 5, 6, and 7 and family remarks, courtesy of Benedetta Pagni Frette, December 2015. Figure 8 and quotation from KWA obituary, courtesy of Dr. Ralf J. Binnewirtz, author and KWF&A-Webmaster (http://www.kwabc.org/index.php/in-memoriam-members/carlo-alberto-pagni, 2012, 08, 15). Special thanks to my good friend Federico Hernández Meyer, Magister Pharm., Av Andalucia 78, 18198 Huétor Vega, Spain, who kindly revised this paper for publication.
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I certify that there is no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this article.
Dr. Klaus von Wild, Münster 22.12.2015
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von Wild, K.R.H. (2017). Music and Mind: In Memoriam Professor Carlo Alberto Pagni, MD, PhD: February 13, 1931 –March 1, 2009. In: Visocchi, M., Mehdorn, H.M., Katayama, Y., von Wild, K.R.H. (eds) Trends in Reconstructive Neurosurgery. Acta Neurochirurgica Supplement, vol 124. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39546-3_2
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