Tomaso Antonio Vitali

about

Tomaso Antonio Vitali (March 7, 1663 –May 9, 1745) was an Italian composer and violinist from Bologna, son of Giovanni Battista Vitali. He is well-known for a chaconne in G minor for violin and continuo, which is generally thought to be a musical hoax (it is presumed that the composition was either heavily altered, recomposed, or originally composed by German violonist Ferdinand David.) One striking feature of the "Vitali" Chaconne's style is the way it wildly changes key, reaching the far-flung territories of B flat and D sharp minors, uncharacteristic of the Baroque era, and key signature changed typical only in Romanticism. Despite its dubious provenance, the piece has been ever popular amongst violinists. For example, Heifetz chose it to open his New York debut at Carnegie Hall in 1917. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

top songs

albums

VITALI: Trio Sonatas, Op. 1

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Vitali: Chaconne in G Minor, Tedesco: The Lark, Fauré: Sonata No. 1, Op. 13, in A

Vitali: Chaconne in G Minor - Tedesco: The Lark - Fauré: Sonata No. 1, Op. 13, in A

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Baroque Violin Favourites

The Darkest Classical String Pieces

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Sweet Sorrow

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Baroque Music – 50 of the best

Prokofiev, S: Violin Sonata, Op. 94A / Handel, G.F.: Violin Sonata in D Major, Hwv 371 / Vitali, T.: Chaconne (Milstein) (1955)

Mozart & Beethoven: Violin Sonatas

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Heifetz Plays the Best of Bach, Mozart, Paganini & Vitali

Vitali: Ciaconna

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The Heifetz Collection, Volume 24: Concertos

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