By Mary Nemet | From the March/April 2026 issue of Strings

Giuseppe Tartini (1692–1770), the greatest violinist of his age, continued and developed the traditions of his equally famous predecessor Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713), leaving modern day violinists an immense legacy. Corelli established Baroque musical forms, such as the trio sonata and concerto grosso, leading to the development of the modern sonata and concerto, and—along with his pupils Francesco Geminiani and Pietro Locatelli—launched the preeminence of the violin.

Tartini, in his 135 violin concertos and over 100 sonatas, became the go-to performer and teacher, with his innovative bowing technique becoming a model for later violinists. Best known for his Devil’s Trill sonata, difficult even by modern standards, he also wrote Variations on a Theme of Corelli, also known as The Art of Bowing. This widely accepted title dates back to a 1757 edition published in Paris by Le Clerc. However Tartini’s great interest in bowing technique began well before, in 1716, when he heard Francesco Veracini playing in Venice. The story goes that he was so impressed that he retreated to a convent in Assisi for a period of intense study.

Despite the date of the first Le Clerc edition (based on a manuscript likely brought to Paris by one of Tartini’s pupils and published without permission of the author), it is thought that Tartini penned these variations around 1727, around the time he founded his violin school in Padua. Other scholars date them from 1740. Whatever the case, Tartini explores the gamut of playing techniques and bowings in this cycle of variations for solo violin with basso continuo accompaniment ad libitum. A vital source for Baroque playing techniques, Tartini’s astonishing flights of fancy form an indispensable collection of études for advanced players, equally demanding for the left hand with double-stops, trills, and fast passagework.

These exceptional works deserve renewed attention from both pedagogues and performers. The variations function effectively as musically satisfying showcase pieces or simply as enjoyable study works. This new Bärenreiter performing score contains not only the 40 variations edited by Matteo Cossu, but also an appendix with 17 variations published by Boivin in 1748 as well as 12 variations first published by Marescalchi in 1788. It also includes a historical introduction, a critical commentary, and continuo realizations of the theme. A separate Bärenreiter book has a bass stave included for all individual variations.

In more recent times, Ferdinand David, Fritz Kreisler, and Zino Francescatti all freely adapted Tartini’s variations in shortened versions, turning them into brilliant encore pieces. This pristine Bärenreiter edition offers advanced performers all they could wish for.