lair was
murdered late one night close to the door of his own house, shortly
after his return from Amsterdam, to which place he had gone solely for
the purpose of hearing Locatelli. No motive for the crime was ever
discovered, nor was the murderer found.

Gaetano Pugnani was a native of Turin, and to him more than to any other
master is due the preservation of the pure, grand style of Corelli,
Tartini, and Vivaldi, for he combined the prominent qualities of style
and technique of all three. He became first violin to the Sardinian
court in 1752, but travelled extensively. He made long stays in Paris
and London, where he was for a time leader of the opera band, and
produced an opera of his own, also publishing a number of his
compositions. In 1770 he was at Turin, where he remained to the end of
his life as teacher, conductor, and composer.

Felice Giardini, another pupil of Somis, was born at Turin and became
one of the foremost violinists in Europe. In 1750 he went to England
where he made his first appearance at a benefit concert for Cuzzoni, the
celebrated opera singer, then in the sere and yellow leaf of her career.
His performance was so brilliant that he became established as the best
violinist who had yet appeared in England, and in 1754 he was placed at
the head of the opera orchestra, succeeding Festing. Soon afterwards he
joined with the singer Mingotti in the management of opera, but the
attempt was not a financial success. Notwithstanding his excellence as a
performer and composer and the fine appointment which he held, Giardini
died in abject poverty at Moscow, to which place he had gone after
finding himself superseded in England by newcomers.

Among the pupils of Tartini the most eminent was Pietro Nardini, who was
born at Fibiano, a village of Tuscany, in 1722. He became solo violinist
at the court of Stuttgart and remained there fifteen years. In 1767 he
went to Leghorn for a short time, and then returned to Padua, where he
remained with his old master Tartini until the latter's death, when he
was appointed director of music to the court of the Duke of Tuscany, in
whose service he remained many years.

Of his playing, Leopold Mozart, himself an eminent violinist, writes:
"The beauty, purity and equality of his tone, and the tastefulness of
his cantabile playing, cannot be surpassed; but he does not execute
great difficulties." His compositions are marked by vivacity, grace, and
sweet sentimentality,