Tomaso Antonio Vitali

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 originally composed by German violinist Ferdinand David. [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=42:4987~T1 Chaconne for violin & continuo in G minor] , as reviewed by Michael Jameson on Allmusic] )

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.

Biography

Vitali studied composition with Antonio Maria Pacchioni, and was employed at the Este court orchestra from 1675 to 1742. He was a teacher, whose pupils included Evaristo Felice dall'Abaco and Jean Baptiste Senaillé.

Authentic works by Vitali include a set of trio sonatas published as his opus numbers 1 and 2 (1693), sonatas à camera (chamber sonatas), and violin sonatas (including his opus 6) among other works. Among those that have been recorded include three of the violin sonatas (on the Swiss label Gallo) and some of the sonatas from the opp. 2 and 4 sets (opus 4 no. 12 on a Classica CD from Finland.)

He died at Modena.

External links

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References

* [http://www.hoasm.org/VIIID/Vitali2.html Brief biography of Vitali]