Giuseppe Tartini

Sei concerti

In 1727, the Amsterdam publisher Michel-Charles Le Cène published a collection of six concertos by Tartini for solo violin and orchestra, entitled Opus 1, "Book 1". It was the prelude to a large-scale publication project of initially twelve, later even 18 concertos, divided into three "books". While the first book was published without the composer's involvement (a legitimate practice at the time), Tartini was directly involved in the publication of the other two volumes.

The publication of these concertos rapidly accelerated the 35-year-old musician's rise from a virtuoso of local importance to a master of his trade with a Europe-wide reputation. The concertos follow the established Venetian form, but make remarkable new demands on bowing techniques to achieve innovative sound qualities, both in the solo part and in the accompanying orchestral parts. The fact that just a few months after publication Tartini founded a school for composition and violin playing in Padua, which trained dozens of first-class musicians, is evidence of the influence he exerted.

In its surviving form, Book 1 contains a large number of problems concerning the musical text, which the editor, Sofia Bisi, was able to solve in this edition by carefully examining all available sources. These include those from Berkeley and Dresden, as well as two autographs of outstanding editorial importance. A detailed historical introduction and a chapter on specific performance practice issues provide an in-depth understanding of Tartini's œuvre.