Tartini spent nearly fifty years of his working life in and around the thirteenth-century Pontifical Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua, where his sole substantial musical document is found.
Performer Biography
Peter Sheppard Skærved, the violinist on this recording, is known for his pioneering approach to both contemporary and historical music, with over 400 works written for him.
Composition History
Giuseppe Tartini, the composer, described these 30 sonatas as "Sonate piccole" ('Little Sonatas'), and they are preserved in a single manuscript in Padua.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Tartini stated, "I feel more at home with nature than art, having no other art than the imitation of nature," reflecting his connection to nature and the Enlightenment thinkers.
Composition History
The Sonate piccole were designed for Tartini's personal use and were not published during his lifetime, unlike some of his other works.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Tartini's Sonate piccole, which occupied him for decades, can be seen as both a musical and philosophical 'summa' of his work, almost an act of self-portraiture.
Interpretation
The performer, Peter Sheppard Skærved, had to 'solve' some of Tartini's musical puzzles in the manuscript, as the composer often left shorthand notations for his own use.
