Giuseppe Tartini


Tartini, Giuseppe

 

Born Apr. 8, 1692, in Pirano, Istria; died Feb. 26, 1770, in Padua. Italian violinist, composer, music theorist, and teacher.

A student of the Bohemian composer B. Černohorský, Tartini worked principally in the orchestra of the Basilica di Sant’ Antonio in Padua. He headed the Padua school of violin playing. His students included P. Bini, P. Nardini, and M. Lombardini-Sirmen.

Tartini developed and enriched the devices and variety of expression available to the violin. He composed concerti, sonatas, and other works for violin, including the popular sonata entitled Devil’s Trill. Tartini was also the author of theoretical works, including A Treatise on Music (1754) and A Treatise on Ornamentation (1782). He was the discoverer of the phenomenon of combination tones. Tartini perfected bowing technique and the manner of rapid execution of strokes in his The Art of the Bow, containing 50 variations on a theme by Corelli.

REFERENCES

Capri, A. G. Tartini. Milan, 1945.
Rubeli, A. Das musiktheoretische System G. Tartinis. Winterthur, 1958.