It is not clear exactly how this demonic and exacting series of bravura variations came to be attributed to Italian Baroque composer Tommaso Antonio Vitali (1663-1745). There can be no doubt at all that Vitali had no hand whatever in the writing of this Chaconne, since scholars have found nothing even remotely similar to it within Vitali's catalog of authenticated works. Moreover, any suggestion that this might be a lost Vitali composition can be similarly dismissed, for there are not even any demonstrable stylistic affinities between the Chaconne and other pieces that have been reliably ascribed to Vitali, in particular a series of 12 sonatas for violin and keyboard. The Chaconne first came to the attention of violinists when it was published as Vitali's work in a collection of pieces (Die Hoch Schule des Violinspiels) edited by the virtuoso and close friend of Mendelssohn, Ferdinand David, and issued in 1867. What is known is that the stern and majestic G minor theme was extensively revised and made progressively more difficult in each successive variation, transforming it into a gripping tour de force of staggering technical difficulty. For this reason, it was selected as the opening work on the bill when Jascha Heifetz presented his debut recital at Carnegie Hall, and indeed, one could hardly imagine a more impressive curtain-raiser. It is just as unclear whether David (who was highly regarded for his advocacy of Baroque music, largely ignored throughout the nineteenth century) wrote the Chaconne himself or possibly assembled it from a variety of motifs by obscure figures of the high Italian Baroque. But this convoluted puzzle doesn't end there. Another violin virtuoso, Frenchman Léopold Charlier, produced an alternative—and if possible, even more taxing—edition in 1911. Charlier not only enhanced the technical demands of the violin part, but also made significant improvements and added new harmonizations to the piano part, whilst reordering the sequence of the variations so that they become progressively more complex as this astounding piece unfolds.

© Michael Jameson, All Music Guide