Tartini was born in Piran (April 8, 1692 ).

He is an Italian composer and violinist. After abandoning plans for a monastic career he studied in Assisi.

He later spent time in Venice and Padua, where he settled in 1721 as principal violinist at the basilica of S Antonio. He worked there until 1765 except for a period in Prague (1723-6).

Besides performing with success, he founded in 1727-8 a ‘school’ of violin instruction; his many pupils included J. G. Graun, Nardini and Naumann.

Tartini was one of the foremost Italian instrumental composers, writing over 400 works: these include violin concertos and sonatas (many with virtuoso solo parts), trio sonatas and sonatas for string ensemble.

Most have three movements, ordered slow-fast-fast (sonatas) or fast-slow-fast (concertos). His later works in particular approach Classical structures and display galant features, including regular four-bar melodic phrases.

Elaborate cadence formulae are especially characteristic. He also composed some sacred music. Noteworthy among his writings are a work on violin playing and ornamentation, Traité des agréments de la musique -

published only in1771 but thought to have been written earlier (L. Mozart, in 1756, is thought to have borrowed from it, but it may be the other way round) - and two treatises on the acoustical foundations of harmony (1754, 1767), in which his discovery of the Difference tone phenomenon is discussed.

Today, Tartini's most famous work is the "Devil's Trill Sonata", a solo violin sonata that requires a number of technically demanding double stop trills and is difficult even by modern standards.

Orchestral music • c135 vn concs., other concertos

Chamber music • 4 sinfonie and sonatas, strs, bc • c40 trio sonatas • c135 sonatas, vn, bc, incl. ‘Devil's Trill’, g • L′arte del arco, variations (c1747) • c30 sonatas, single movts, vn solo

Made by: Aleksandra Curavić