School of Nations

For its third concert, Slovenian Music Days moves to Piran, a town that was once part of the Venetian Republic. Among the musicians born on what is today Slovene soil who have left a significant mark on world music history, the name of Giuseppe Tartini (1692–1770) is written in letters of gold. He was the “great master of the art of the violin, a writer of scholarly treatises and a teacher of famous pupils, who had no equal and probably never will,” as Francesco Fanzago, Abbot of Padua, put it in his famous eulogy for the dead musician. A native of Piran, Tartini was the supreme violin virtuoso, the most famous violinist in the Europe of his day. He was also a prolific composer, writing almost exclusively for the violin and other stringed instruments, the author of treatises on music theory, and a highly esteemed violin teacher, whose innovative approaches significantly influenced the development of violin technique. He settled in Padua, where he founded his own violin school. From 1725 onwards, the most gifted violinists from all over Europe made their way to Padua to study with him, earning Tartini the nickname “master of nations”. The most famous pupil of his “school of nations” was Pietro Nardini (1722–1793). Other pupils whose own works showed the influence of their mentor’s compositional style were Giuseppe Michele Stratico (1728–1783) of Zara (present-day Zadar), like Tartini an excellent violinist in the orchestra of the Basilica of St Anthony of Padua, and Angelo Morigi (1725–1801), who worked in London and at the ducal court in Parma. Among Slovene connoisseurs of Tartini’s music, violinist Črtomir Šiškovič plays a special role. He has recorded several albums of Tartini’s works, including all his sonatas for solo violin. Having begun his musical training at the Glasbena Matica in his native Trieste, he graduated with distinction from the city’s Conservatorio “Giuseppe Tartini” and went on to complete a degree at the prestigious Cologne University of Music and to pursue further studies with such noted violinists and chamber ensembles as Igor Ozim, Franco Gulli, the Amadeus Quartet and the Borodin Quartet. Nika Toškan is a highly gifted young violinist. A graduate of the Arts Gymnasium in Koper, she is currently studying with the distinguished violinist Ilya Grubert at the Amsterdam Conservatory and has attended masterclasses with various teachers. Both soloists have collaborated frequently with the Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra, a prestigious string ensemble consisting of members of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. They will perform a selection of works by Tartini, some well-known and others rarely performed, and at the same time celebrate the anniversary of the great composer’s birth. Baptised on 8 April 1692, Giuseppe Tartini was very probably born a day or two before that.

During a concert break, a conversation with Črtomir Šiškovič will take place in St George’s Church. Conversation will be moderated by Helena Filipčič Gardina.