Tomaso Antonio Vitali

Tomaso Antonio Vitali
Portrait of Vitali from the second half of the 18th century by an unknown Emilian painter
Born
Tomaso Antonio Vitali

(1663-03-07)7 March 1663
Bologna, Italy
Died9 May 1745(1745-05-09) (aged 82)
Modena, Italy
Occupations
  • Composer
  • violinist

Tomaso Antonio Vitali (7 March 1663 – 9 May 1745) was an Italian composer and violinist of the mid to late Baroque era. The eldest son of Giovanni Battista Vitali, he is chiefly known for a Chaconne in G minor for violin and continuo, to which he is traditionally attributed as the composer. The work was published from a manuscript in the Sächsische Landesbibliothek in Dresden in Die Hoch Schule des Violinspiels (1867) edited by German violinist Ferdinand David. That work's wide-ranging modulations into distant keys have raised speculation that it could not be a genuine Baroque work, while the lack of similarities to other works by Vitali have made modern scholars cast serious doubts on the attribution.