TARTINI AND THE DEVIL
(GIUSEPPE TARTINI, -for whose ‘lesser-known compositions Vivien Dixon has searched successfully during her travels abroad, was always a good subject for a story. Even when Dr. Percy Scholes was compiling his’ Oxford Companion to Music he caught the spirit of Tartini’s life, relaxed for a moment, and under the head, ing "Devil" wrote: "For a reference to this celebrated composer and performer see under Tartini." Tartini was, in a way, the devil’s instrument, for he wrote the best-known of his compositions, The Devil’s Trill sonata, after a dream in which the devil appeared to him saying: "Thou art but a cold, unfeeling fiddler. I can do better than that!" Of the very beautiful sonata which his visitor then played, Tartini could remember only a
strange double-quaver _+-the one that appears in the famous sonata. The werk as a whole, Tartini thought, was not nearly as beautiful as the .one the devil had played. Tartini had a restless youth. At his father’s wish he began to study for the priesthood and during this period had his first violin lessons. At 18 he said he wanted to become a lawyer, but instead of applying himself to this he developed a passion for
fencing, and was soon said to be the best. swordsman in’Padua. When his father cancelled his allowance he made his living by giving lessons on the violin. The story of : his secret marriage with the 15-year-old niece of a Cardinal is well known. When Tartini was sued by the Cardinal for seducing a girl under age he fled, at his wife’s suggestion, to Assisi, where he took refuge in the Franciscan monastery and devoted himself entirely to the violin. Tartini’s whereabouts was event-_ ually discovered and reported to the Cardinal, but the young wife persuaded her uncle to change his attitude and. Tartini was forgiven. His fame spread as both violinist and teacher. Franz Farga in his Violins and Violinists, says that some letters exist in which he explained the best method of achieving a
perfect stroke of the bow and a noble tone. Farga considers that if Tartini had written down his method of teaching violin technique in all its aspects it would have made "the best possible introduction to the art of violin playing." Tartini was probably the most prolific of composers for the violin. Farga says there are about 200 violin concertos and as many sonatas by his hand.
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 28, Issue 716, 2 April 1953, Page 6
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406TARTINI AND THE DEVIL New Zealand Listener, Volume 28, Issue 716, 2 April 1953, Page 6
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