Andante from Trio Sonata Op. 8, No. 6 was composed by Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770), an Italian violinist, teacher and composer. Tartini's Op. 8, No. 6 is a trio sonata, written for two violins and a bass continuo.  It appears to have first been published in Paris in 1749. Tartini made significant contributions to the genres of violin concertos and sonatas, and is often considered to be a pioneer of the gallant style, a style of music during the mid-eighteenth-century that often used a virtuosic style of playing, melodious melodies, and a chordal style of accompaniment (homophony). He was a noted violin teacher, and many of his views regarding violin technique can be found in his book, Traité des agréments. Although Tartini's Traité des agréments was not published until after his death, scholars have asserted that Tartini's ideas were plagiarized by Leopold Mozart, father of Wolfgang Mozart, when Leopold published a violin instruction text entitled Violinschule, in 1756.

Although Tartini received training to become a priest, he apparently rejected his parent's wishes that he join a monastery, and he instead pursued a career as a musician. Tartini was employed as a violinist by churches such as St. Anthony's Basilica in Padua, Italy which was noted for having one of the finest orchestras in Europe at that time. He also spent several years in Prague as a musician for Count Kinsky, a Bohemian court chancellor. [1]

REFERENCE NOTES

[1] Brainard, Paul. "Giuseppe Tartini," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Ed. Stanley Sadie. London : Macmillian, 1980. 18:583-588.

*Sheet music is scored in three-part harmony, and parts are available with interchangeable viola, violin and bass music. Sheet music files are in PDF format, and require Acrobat® Reader. If you don’t have Acrobat® Reader installed, it’s a free download. Click on the following link: Get Acrobat Reader