19th-century violin virtuoso Nicolo Paganini had quite a life story, full of gambling, carousing, and concertizing, but the life of his instrument is nearly as fascinating on its own. The 260-year-old Guarneri, which is kept under heavy guard in Genoa and overseen by a committee, has been played by only a few select musicians since the death of Paganini, and when jazz fiddler Regina Carter was invited to try it out two years ago, purists threw a fit. Carter recorded an album on the famous violin, and this weekend, she’ll get a chance to perform on it live in New York. But only for 45 minutes. Because the commitee says so.