The Devil's Trill
An Italian violinist dreamed he gave his soul to the Devil, who picked up his violin and played the most beautiful music he had ever heard.
What was reported
Giuseppe Tartini was one of the great violinists of the 18th century. Late in life, he told the French astronomer Jérôme Lalande about a dream he'd had as a young man, in 1713: he made a pact with the Devil, and to test him, handed him his violin.
The Devil played a sonata so beautiful and so skilful that Tartini woke up gasping. He grabbed his violin and tried to play what he'd heard. The piece he wrote, the 'Devil's Trill' sonata, is still one of the hardest in the repertoire, but he said it was nothing next to what he heard in the dream.
Explanations offered
It's a story about a dream, told decades later, so there's nothing to check. Dreams that seem to bring creative ideas are well known. The sonata itself was probably written years after 1713, and the tale has helped make it famous.
- When
- Said to be 1713
- Where
- Assisi, Umbria, Italy
- Witnesses
- The composer Giuseppe Tartini, in his own account
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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