It is lucky for Classicfm that it is not possible to sue for libling the dead, for that is what they do everytime they refer to the piece of music as Albinoni's Adagio. For two reasons, Albinoni cannot have written this peice: firstly it was written in 1958 - 207 years after Albinoni's death. Secondly, I plead with music lovers to listen to Albinoni's Oboe concerti Op 9, and it becomes obvious that a truly talented baroque composer could not possibly have written that terrible dirge. The work was written by Remo Giazotto, who is rightly famous for . . . absolutely nothing. It is a tedious piece of work, befitting a non-entity not befitting a composer of Albinoni's greatness. Albinoni was an equal of Vivaldi, and among baroque composers, behind only the greatest of them ass J S Bach. Giazotto, on the other hand . . . who? The Adagio is a non-entity's piece so please, please, please stop slandering Albinoni.

I actually really like this piece, regardless of whoever wrote it - particularly Karajan's take on it with the BPO. The slower tempo really suits it. I find it really moving in a depressingly aching way!!

It will be interesting to see which side of the fence our fellow posters come down on. I find Faure's Pavane a similiar piece to this.

Quite right Adam. It's one of those pieces that links people to CM who would otherwise never make the connection, and I can see no reason why anyone should take against it so aggressively.
It rather reminds me of those people who affect to be such connoisseurs that they won't have anything to do with completions of unfinished works such as the Bruckner 9th or Elgar's 3rd. The mere fact that the performing version is not TOTALLY authentic seems to provide them with an opportunity they are delighted to sieze on to show how superior and fastidious they are.
In any case even if PGJE were right and it isn't so very good, would it be any worse than many other less than first rate compositions by even the greatest composers? But in view of the fact that these works do not tend to be played or become popular it says something about this work with it's unusually long melodic line, that it has indeed become very popular, doing Albinoni's reputation no harm in the process. In fact most people wouldn't even have heard of him but for this spurious piece.
Meanwhile of course the man in the street continues to suspect that paintings are only valued when their undoubted authenticity has been established and that it has little to do with the intrinsic merit of the work itself. One often has to wonder whether he has a point don't you think?

Am I being 'negative' or 'positive' d'you think? Hah!

the reviewer reveals himself/herself to be an authenticity-fascist. does (s)he only listen to beethoven symphonies performed on period instruments? refuse to listen to ravel's orchestration of "pictures at an exhibtion" because it's not original? dismiss several of mozart's piano sonatas because he reused the same themes? ignore many j.s. bach concerti because he utilised the works of others (notably vivaldi!)? poo on stravinsky/respighi/tchaikovsky/bartok (i could go on) because they re-interpreted the works of others?

this reviewer doesn't really know what he is talking about. if you have enjoyed the albinoni adagio in g minor for its own sake the DO CONTINUE TO DO SO.

People are far, far more likely to listen to Albinoni's Oboe Concertos if they have heard of him, and the Adagio is a good way of doing so, so however inauthentic a piece it may be (and if you wish to be an "authenticity-fascist" you have every right to be so) it has done a lot to further his name and save him from oblivion. When Albinoni is considered one of the greatest of all Baroque composers, maybe then it is time to re-package this piece as "Giazotto's Adagio after Albinoni"?

There are plenty of authentic pieces where, if the composer were still alive today, they would be saying to themselves "God! Did I SERIOUSLY write that rubbish? What the hell was I thinking?"

Whatever the story is behind the authorship of this piece the confusion can hardly be blamed on Albinoni himself - serendipity has played a part in opening a door for some of his own works to be deservedly better known and that can't be a bad thing. He must have been a composer of some worth (and wealth - although prolific he never needed to secure a court position or rely on a patron where he would have to 'write to order') - I gather no less a figure than J.S. Bach wrote pieces (fugues?) based on subjects from some of Albinoni's early sonatas.

What a disappointing set of responses, not addressing the main point made or, in at least two cases, addressing points that were NOT made. Hambletta-Maud's point about 'authenticity-fascism' is both silly and, as I'll explain in a moment, actually wrong.
It is silly because a Beethoven symphony, whether played on modern or period instruments or indeed played on a kazoo, swannee whistle and triangle, would STILL have been written by Beethoven. HM's accusation of authenticity-fascism is also wrong as I have, and greatly enjoy, a charming version of Handel's Arrival of the Queen of Sheba played by the Irish folk group De Dannan on pipes, whistles, bodhrans etc. It is a delightful piece, not better than the original, but different. And it is credited (Handel arr. De Dannan) so no complaints at all there.
No one has addressed my main point: the Adagio was not, and could not have been written by Albinoni, that he died 207 years before the adagio was written and that he was a great composer of the baroque period and the adagio, written in 1958, is not a baroque piece.
A number of the responses to my original comment seem mistakenly to be aimed at someone whom they apparently think was asking for the piece to be not played/banned. I did not and would not make this point. There are many pieces which, like Giazotto's adagio, I'd rather not hear again but my radio has an off switch. I'm sure that there are probably a fair few pieces that I like that other would rather not hear (possibly De Dannan's interpretation of the Handel piece among them). I don't want anything, remotely called 'classical' music and of whatever quality, banned.
My second point was that Giazotto's adagio is a dreary dirge - and even one of its 'defenders' (Adam Jackson) admits that it IS depressing.
I'm not asking anyone NOT to like it. I'm only saying that if it is played on the radio blame should be correctly laid at the feet of Remo Giazotto, not at the feet of the entirely innocent Tomaso Albinoni.
The adagio ranks alongside the other great pieces written by Giazotto namely . . um . . (I rest my case!)

Oh dear! We all got less than a C-minus for our responses. We must try harder, or we will all be spanked by the headmaster.

While we are at it, I recntly bought a piece of music called "Variations on a Theme by Haydn", supposedly by a chap called Johannes Brahms. Not only is this big fat Hamburg git a thief - why can't he invent his own theme - but also a liar. The St.Anthoni Chorale was not by Haydn. I suggest the estate of Haydn sue Brahms; just because it was written at a time when Haydnwas less famous than he is now, and it did no end of good for the man's reputation 70 years or so after his death, is no reason for Brahms to show such a total lack of respect for the man.

I'm just going out and burning all the copies I have of the "Haydn Variations". I have a copy or two of the "Variations on the St.Anthony Chorale" which is quite similar, so might keep them.

[Deleted by the author on 11 Nov 2009 21:26 GMT]

The fact that other pieces of music may or may not also have misattributions (such a the Toy Symphony attributed to Haydn actually having been written by Leopold Mozart) is simply NOT the point. Two wrongs do not make a right. All I am asking is for Giazotto's Adagio to be correctly attributed (in an attempt to salvage poor Albinoni's reputation!)

Brahms wasn't a thief, he wrote a set of variations on another composers theme and acknowledged that in the his title - dozens of composers have done that. He wasn't a liar, at the time he composed his variations it was believed to be by Haydn.

Mr. Cryer. I think you misinterpreted my sledgehammer sense of humour. There is meant to be a note of very heavy handed sarcasm in my original post.

What I was trying to say, PJGE, is that Albinoni's exposure (maybe not reputation) has been enhanced by his being credited with this famous piece, and that actually Giazotto has done him an enormous service, his name on a spurious work has encouraged many to look and listen further; as did Brahms to Haydn with his variations Op.56a, which were composed at a time when Haydn's reputation was very much in the doldrums.

I agree with Fompous Part (great name, by the way!) that the piece does indeed enhance Albinoni's exposure and NOT his reputation. I suppose what is at the bottom of my anger is that I was put off exploring Albinoni's work because I had always associated his name with that dirge. Only by accident, in my 40s, was I passing a work colleague's room and, hearing beautiful music, stuck my head round the door and said "Vivaldi?", on being corrected "no, Albinoni" you could have knocked me down with a feather. It was, in fact, the fantastic Op 9 Oboe concerti, and I have been collecting Albinoni (the real Albinoni) works ever since - and deeply regretting the fact that Giazotto prevented me from searching out real Albinoni decades earlier. I fear that there may be others in the situation I was - of NOT listening to real Albinoni because they, regretably if understandably, think that he was responsible for the Giazotto piece. For those who like the Giazotto piece, good for you. But please, please, please stop say it was by Albinoni. I COULD have had twenty extra years enjoying the oboe concerti, and others, if the correct attribution was recognised.
The Classic fm 'Guide to Classical Music' says the piece was written by Giazotto so why can't their programme presenters?
I love real Albinoni work and am still very angry that an incorrect attribution kept me away from it for so very long.

I am actually surprised by your experience, here PJGE! Most people I know would actually be encouraged onwards from the Adagio. And I feel that your experience may be more likely to occur with the examples I gave earlier of works by composer which are hardly representative of their other work - potboilers if you will - such as Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance marches, which give the initial impression that Elgar is either light, or lightweight, or a narrow-minded nationalist, none of which really honestly apply to him. When the Adagio was written/arranged/whatever the correct term is/ by Giazotto, I seriously doubt you could get ANY "other" Albinoni. When, for example, were the first recordings of the Oboe Concerti you obviously adore (I like them too, by the way!)?

My personal feelings on the piece itself are that it is a harmless, atmospheric, but ultimately schmaltzy piece of music. It doesn't offend in any way.

I will be honest and say that I have been put off Vivaldi through having the Four Seasons rammed down my ears so frequently over the years - now who do we blame for that? Vivaldi himself?

My name, by the way, is genuine. You might know my fourth cousin, five times removed, who goes by the first name Arvo?

Sledgehammer is the word.

I have a Karajan recording of the infamous Adagio and even that describes it as 'brazenly commercial' in the notes (but it stll says 'arr. Giazotto').

So is that it? Giazotto is guilty. Albinoni is innocent, the Adagio is 'depressing' and 'brazenly commercial'? Will someone tell Classic FM to follow the comments in their guide? Please, please stop blaming the innocent!

This slight piece of kitsch has produced some pretty forthright comment. Should I start a discussion on Orff's Carmina Burana? Light blue touchpaper and retire.....

Adam - not to do down poor Giazotto who has been slated enough & really was probably trying to restore his pride in Italy's past after the war; I think the Faure Pavane has a bit more going for it than the Adagio.

Despite the facts that a) no-one knows where the words come from, & b) he likely didn't do the orchestration himself

According to the notes for Yan Pascal Tortelier's performance (Chandos) of the Faure Pavane the words were added later and written by Comte Robert de Montesequieu, at the suggestion of his cousin Comtesse Elisabeth Greffulhe who was a patroness of Faure's music. Oddly, the Chandos disc gives this info but is of the orchestral version; the Fournet/Philips performance is of the choral version but provides no words or author.

No suggestion on either disc that the orchestration was by anyone other than Faure but you could be right.

A bit of a storm in a teacup really as most broadcasters DO refer to Giazotto who as an acknowledged Albinoni expert was hardly a non-entity.
PJGE's opinion of the piece as a terrible dirge is as nothing compared to its worldwide popularity and the championship of the likes of Karajan.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION...
Remo Giazotto (September 4, 1910, Rome - August 26, 1998, Pisa) was an Italian musicologist, music critic, and composer, mostly known through his systematic catalogue of the works of Tomaso Albinoni. He wrote biographies of Albinoni and other composers, including Vivaldi.

Giazotto served as a music critic (from 1932) and editor (1945-1949) of the Rivista musicale italiana and was appointed co-editor of the Nuova rivista musicale italiana in 1967. He was a professor of the history of music at the University of Florence (1957-69) and in 1962 was nominated to the Acedemia Nazionale di S. Cecilia.

In 1949 Giazotto became the director of the chamber music programs for RAI (Radio Audizioni Italiane) and in 1966 its director of the international programs organized through the European Broadcasting Union. He was also the president of RAI's auditioning committee and editor of its series of biographies on composers.

Giazotto is famous for his publication of a work called Adagio in G minor which he claimed to have transcribed from a manuscript fragment of an Albinoni sonata that he had received from the Saxon State Library. He stated that he had arranged the work but not composed it. He subsequently revised this story, claiming it as his own original composition. The fragment has never appeared in public, Giazotto stated that it contained only the bass line, and the work was copyrighted by Giazotto