Search - Tartini, Bizantina, Chiarappa :: Violin Concertos

Tartini was the composer of the so-called "Devil's Trill" violin sonata- music, which he claimed came to him in a dream. The associations of violin playing with satanic forces go back to the Middle Ages, where paintings and drawings dating from the plague years show the figure of Death leading the innocent to their graves through the magic of music. You certainly won't be carried off by these spiffy concertos, but they are superb violin music. Tartini was one of the Baroque period's greatest virtuoso performers, and the music he wrote clearly shows off his ability. These performances have all the vitality and virtuosity that the music demands, and the sound is excellent. --David Hurwitz