Devil’s Trill Sonata

Giuseppe Tartini was a violin virtuoso, pedagogue, composer, music theoretician, and the discoverer of sum and difference tones in the field of sound physics. He created the first great method for violin playing, The Art of Bowing. Of the approximately 250 compositions of Tartini, the most famous and perhaps the best is the Devil’s Trill Sonata. The year of this composition is unknown. Despite most of Tartini’s work being published during his lifetime, the Devil’s Trill was not printed until 1799, 29 years after the composers death. The title is based on the story that the devil appeared in Tartini’s dream, performing this Sonata. Upon awakening, Tartini immediately wrote down the composition according to the lore. This world premiere violin performance edition includes concise fingerings and bowings by Heifetz protégé Endre Granat.