Giuseppe Tartini (8 April 1692 – 26 February 1770) was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era born in Pirano in the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
(now
Piran
Piran (; ) is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. A bilingual city, with population speaking both Slovene and Italian, Piran is known for its medieva ...
, Slovenia). Tartini was a prolific composer, composing over a hundred pieces for the violin, the majority of them violin concertos. He is best remembered for his Violin Sonata in G Minor (the
Devil's Trill Sonata
The Violin Sonata in G minor, GT 2.g05; B.g5, more familiarly known as the ''Devil's Trill Sonata'' (Italian: ''Il trillo del diavolo''), is a work for solo violin (with figured bass accompaniment) by Giuseppe Tartini (1692–1770). It is the comp ...
).
Early life

Tartini was born on 8 April 1692 in
Piran
Piran (; ) is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. A bilingual city, with population speaking both Slovene and Italian, Piran is known for its medieva ...
o (today part of Slovenia), a town on the peninsula of
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
, in the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
to Gianantonio – native of
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
– and Caterina Zangrando, a descendant of one of the oldest aristocratic Piranese families.
It appears Tartini's parents intended him to become a
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...
and, in this way, he received basic musical training. Tartini studied violin first at the ''collegio delle Scuole Pie'' in Capodistria (today
Koper
Koper (; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fifth-largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Slovenian Istria, Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, Koper is the main urban center of the Slovene coast. Port of Koper i ...
).
He studied law at the
University of Padua
The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...
, where he became skilled at
fencing
Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...
. After his father's death in 1710, he married Elisabetta Premazore, a woman his father disapproved of because of her poverty, unknown father and greater age (she was 20, he was 18). Unfortunately, Elisabetta was a favourite of the powerful
Cardinal Giorgio Cornaro, who promptly charged Tartini with abduction. Tartini fled Padua to go to the monastery of St. Francis in
Assisi
Assisi (, also ; ; from ; Central Italian: ''Ascesi'') is a town and comune of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio.
It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Prope ...
, where he could escape prosecution. In Assisi he studied under
Bohuslav Matěj Černohorský
Bohuslav Matěj Černohorský (Christened 16 February 1684, Nymburk, Bohemia – 1 July 1742, Graz, Austria) was a Czech composer, organist and teacher of the baroque era. He wrote among other works motets, other choral works (a fugue ''Laudetur ...
.
Career
Legend says when Tartini heard
Francesco Maria Veracini
Francesco Maria Veracini (1 February 1690 – 31 October 1768) was an Italian composer and violinist, perhaps best known for his sets of violin sonatas. As a composer, according to Manfred Bukofzer, "His individual, if not subjective, style has ...
's playing in 1716, he was impressed by it and dissatisfied with his own skill. He fled to
Ancona
Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...
and locked himself away in a room to practice, according to
Charles Burney
Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicis ...
, "in order to study the use of the bow in more tranquility, and with more convenience than at
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, as he had a place assigned him in the opera orchestra of that city".
Tartini's skill improved tremendously and, in 1721, he was appointed ''
Maestro di Cappella
( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...
'' at the
Basilica di Sant'Antonio in
Padua
Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
, with a contract that allowed him to play for other institutions if he wished. In Padua, he met and befriended fellow composer and theorist
Francesco Antonio Vallotti
Francesco Antonio Vallotti (11 June 1697 – 10 January 1780) was an Italian composer, music theorist, and organist.
Life
He was born in Vercelli. He studied with G. A. Bissone at the church of St. Eusebius. Noticed by the Padre Beccaria of ...
. Between 1723 and 1725 he was in
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, where he was master of the chapel of the Count Kinsky.
Tartini was the first known owner of a violin made by
Antonio Stradivari
Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinisation of names, Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', a ...
in 1715, which Tartini bestowed upon his student Salvini, who in turn gave it to the
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
* Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
and virtuoso
violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
ist
Karol Lipiński
Karol Józef Lipiński (30 October 1790 – 16 December 1861) was a Polish music composer and virtuoso violinist active during the partitions of Poland. The Karol Lipiński University of Music in Wrocław, Poland is named after him.
Life
L ...
upon hearing him perform: the instrument is thus known as the
Lipinski Stradivarius
The ''Lipinski Stradivarius'' is an antique violin constructed in 1715 by the Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona, during Stradivari's "golden period" between 1700 and 1725. There are fewer than 650 extant Stradivarius violins in the wo ...
. Tartini also owned and played the Antonio Stradivarius violin ex-Vogelweith from 1711.
In 1726, Tartini started a violin school which attracted students from all over Europe. Gradually, Tartini became more interested in the theory of
harmony
In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...
and
acoustics
Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...
and from 1750 to the end of his life he published various treatises, in which he also treated problems of music theory on a mathematical basis.
Death
He died of
gangrene
Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...
on 26 February 1770 in Padua.
Memorials
Tartini's home town, Piran (now in Slovenia), has a statue of him in the square, which was the old harbour, originally Roman, named
Tartini Square
Tartini Square ( Slovene: ''Tartinijev trg'', Italian: ''Piazza Tartini'') is the largest and main town square in Piran, Slovenia. It was named after violinist and composer Giuseppe Tartini, of whom a monument was made in 1896.
History
The squar ...
(, ). Silted up and obsolete, the port was cleared of debris, filled, and redeveloped. One of the old stone warehouses is now the Hotel Giuseppe Tartini.
His birthday is celebrated by a concert in the main town cathedral.
Compositions

Today, Tartini's most famous work is the "
Devil's Trill Sonata
The Violin Sonata in G minor, GT 2.g05; B.g5, more familiarly known as the ''Devil's Trill Sonata'' (Italian: ''Il trillo del diavolo''), is a work for solo violin (with figured bass accompaniment) by Giuseppe Tartini (1692–1770). It is the comp ...
",
a solo violin sonata that requires a number of technically demanding
double stop
In music, a double stop is the technique of playing two notes simultaneously on a stringed instrument such as a violin, a viola, a cello, or a double bass. On instruments such as the Hardanger fiddle it is common and often employed. In performin ...
trill
TRILL (Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links) is a networking protocol for optimizing bandwidth and resilience in Ethernet networks, implemented by devices called TRILL switches. TRILL combines techniques from bridging and routing, and ...
s and is difficult even by modern standards. According to a legend embroidered upon by
Madame Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian-born mystic and writer who emigrated to the United States where she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international foll ...
, Tartini was inspired to write the sonata by a dream in which the
Devil
A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...
appeared at the foot of his bed playing the violin.
Almost all of Tartini's works are
violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
(at least 135) and
violin sonata
A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple Baroque music, baroque form wi ...
s (at least 100). Tartini's compositions include some sacred works such as a
Miserere, composed between 1739 and 1741 at the request of
Pope Clement XII
Pope Clement XII (; ; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740.
Clement presided over the growth of a surplus in the papal ...
, and a
Stabat Mater
The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to the Virgin Mary that portrays her suffering as mother during the crucifixion of her son Jesus Christ. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Saba ...
, composed in 1769. He also composed trio sonatas and a sinfonia in A. Cataloguing Tartini's compositions is a challenge for scholars and editors. Tartini never dated his manuscripts, and revised works that had been completed or even published long before, making it difficult to determine when a work was written, when it was revised, and the extent of the revisions. The scholars
Minos Dounias and Paul Brainard have attempted to divide Tartini's works into periods based entirely on the stylistic characteristics of the music.
Sixty-two manuscripts with compositions of Tartini are housed at the
Biblioteca comunale Luciano Benincasa in
Ancona
Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...
.
Luigi Dallapiccola
Luigi Dallapiccola (3 February 1904 – 19 February 1975) was an Italian composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions.
Biography
Dallapiccola was born in Pisino d'Istria (at the time part of Austria-Hungary, current Pazin, Croati ...
wrote a piece called ''Tartiniana'' based on various themes by Tartini.
Theoretical work
In addition to his work as a composer, Tartini was a music theorist, of a very practical bent. He is credited with the discovery of
sum and difference tones, an acoustical phenomenon of particular utility on string instruments (intonation of double-stops can be judged by careful listening to the difference tone, the "
terzo suono"). He published his discoveries in a treatise "Trattato di musica secondo la vera scienza dell'armonia" (Padua, 1754). His treatise on ornamentation was eventually translated into French — though when its influence was rapidly waning, in 1771 — by a certain "P. Denis", whose introduction called it "unique"; indeed, it was the first published text devoted entirely to
ornament and, though it was all but forgotten, as only the printed edition survived, has provided first-hand information on violin technique for modern
historically informed performance
Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of Western classical music, classical music which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of ...
s, once it was published in English translation by Sol Babitz in 1956. Of greater assistance to such performance was Erwin Jacobi's published edition. In 1961, Jacobi published a tri-lingual edition consisting of the French (basis of the following two), English (translation by
Cuthbert Girdlestone
Cuthbert Morton Girdlestone (17 September 1895 – 10 December 1975) was a British musicologist and literary scholar.
Born in Bovey Tracey, Devon, he was educated at Cambridge and the Sorbonne, and thereafter took up the chair in French in Arm ...
), plus Jacobi's own translation into German (Giuseppe Tartini. "Traité des agréments de la musique", trans. and ed. Erwin Jacobi. Celle: Hermann Moeck Verlag, 1961). Of significant import, Jacobi's edition also includes a facsimile of the original Italian found in Venice in 1957, copied in the hand of Giovanni Nicolai (one of Tartini's best-known students) and includes an opening section on bowing and a closing section on how to compose cadenzas not previously known. Another copy (though less complete) of the Italian original was found among manuscripts purchased by the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
in 1958, a collection that also included numerous ornamented versions of slow movements of concertos and sonatas, written in Tartini's hand. Minnie Elmer analyzed these ornamented versions in her master's thesis at UC, Berkeley in 1959 (Minnie Elmer. "The Improvised Ornamentation of Giuseppe Tartini". Unpublished M.A. thesis. Berkeley, 1959).
Publications
*
Fictional portrayal
Tartini is mentioned in
Madame Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian-born mystic and writer who emigrated to the United States where she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international foll ...
's "The Ensouled Violin", a short story included in the collection ''Nightmare Tales''.
The folklore of the "Devil's violin", classically exemplified by a similar story told of
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; ; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices ...
, is widespread; it is an instance of the
deal with the devil
A deal with the Devil is a cultural motif exemplified by the legend of Faust and the figure of Mephistopheles, as well as being elemental to many Christian traditions. According to traditional Christian belief about witchcraft, the pact is ...
. A modern variant is the country song ''
The Devil Went Down to Georgia
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and recorded by American music group Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979 album '' Million Mile Reflections''.
The song is written in the key of D minor. Although uncredited, Vassar ...
''; the PBS segment on violin in its series "Art" was titled "Art of violin: the devil's instrument".
Tartini's ''The Devil's Trill'' is the signature work of a central character in
Daniel Silva's ''
The English Assassin''. Anna Rolfe, the daughter of a Swiss banker, is a famous violinist and the sonata features prominently in the novel. The story of Tartini's inspirational dream is told. The story also forms the basis of the mystery novel, "The Devil's Trill," by violinist and author Gerald Elias.
Tartini's "The Devil's Trill" is also featured in the Japanese anime ''
Descendants of Darkness
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoko Matsushita. The story revolves around shinigami. These Guardians of Death work for '' Enma Daiō'', the king of the dead, sorting out the expected and unexpected arrivals to the Under ...
'' (''Yami no Matsuei''). The three-part story is also named after the composition.
Notes
References
* Paul Brainard: ''"Le sonate per violino di Giuseppe Tartini Catalogo tematico"'' - edition "
I Solisti Veneti
I Solisti Veneti is an Italian chamber orchestra founded in Padua in 1959 by Claudio Scimone. Since 2019, the Musical Director has been Giuliano Carella, and since 2020 he has also been Artistic Director.
Background
The ensemble was directe ...
", Padua 1975
* Giuseppe Tartini: ''"Scienza Platonica fondata nel cerchio"'' by Anna Cavalla Todeschini for
Accademia Tartiniana
Accademia (Italian for "academy") often refers to:
* The Galleria dell'Accademia, an art museum in Florence
* The Gallerie dell'Accademia, an art museum in Venice
Accademia may also refer to:
Academies of art
* The Accademia Carrara di Belle ...
of Padua president
Enzo Bandelloni, executive committee
Francesco Cavalla,
Edoardo Farina,
Claudio Scimone
Claudio Scimone (23 December 1934 – 6 September 2018) was an Italian conductor.
He was born in Padua, Italy and studied conducting with Dimitri Mitropoulos and Franco Ferrara. He established an international reputation as a conductor, as wel ...
. The text reproduces an unpublished work, the manuscript is at the Sergej Mašera Maritime Museum in
Piran
Piran (; ) is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. A bilingual city, with population speaking both Slovene and Italian, Piran is known for its medieva ...
. edizione
CEDAM
* Giuseppe Tartini,''Trattato di musica secondo la vera scienza dell'armonia'', Nella Stamperia del Seminario, Appresso Giovanni Manfrè, Padua, 1754 – Riedizione Anastatica, Edition "I Solisti Veneti",
CEDAM, Padua, 1973
* Giuseppe Tartini, ''De' principj dell'armonia musicale contenuta nel diatonico genere – Dissertazione'', Stamperia del Seminario, Padua, 1767 – Facsimile edition, Edizione "I Solisti Veneti",
CEDAM, Padua, 1974
*
*
External links
*
Allmusic Biography
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
*
*
Tartini a computer program that uses combination tones for pitch recognition
Giuseppe Tartini– Prominent Istrians at istrianet.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tartini, Giuseppe
Italian Baroque composers
Italian classical violinists
Italian music theorists
01
1692 births
1770 deaths
Composers for violin
Italian classical composers
Italian male classical composers
Italian male classical violinists
Istrian Italian people
People from Istria
People from Piran
18th-century Italian composers
18th-century Italian male musicians
Deal with the Devil
Musicians from Padua
People of Tuscan descent