Tartini, Giuseppe

zĕp´pā tärtē´nē), 1692–1770, Italian violinist, the greatest violin master of his day. In 1728 he founded at Padua a school of the violin that became known throughout Europe. Tartini altered the shape of the bow, revised bowing technique, and was probably the first to discover the difference tone (see tone), which became a means of securing just intonation. He wrote a number of theoretical works and composed an estimated 150 violin concertos, many trio sonatas, and about 200 solo sonatas, among which The Devil's Trill, supposedly played to him by the devil in a dream, is the most famous.