Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770); ITA

Giuseppe Tartini (1692–1770) was an Italian violinist, composer, theorist, and teacher born in Pirano, then part of the Venetian Republic. After early studies in Padua, he devoted himself intensively to the violin and became one of Europe’s most admired performers. In 1721 he was appointed principal violinist at the Basilica of Sant’Antonio in Padua. He later founded a celebrated violin school that attracted pupils from across Europe and earned him an international reputation as a pedagogue.

Tartini composed more than a hundred violin concertos and a large body of violin sonatas, combining technical brilliance with an increasingly expressive and lyrical style. His most famous work is the Violin Sonata in G minor, Devil’s Trill, surrounded by a famous story that its inspiration came to him in a dream. Other works include the Violin Sonata in G minor, Didone abbandonata. Tartini also wrote important theoretical works and investigated acoustical phenomena, including the combination tones often called Tartini tones.

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Read biography at allmusic.com.