The Adagio in G minor for violin, strings, and continuo is a composition usually attributed to 18th century composer Tomaso Albinoni. It was actually written by 20th century Albinoni scholar Remo Giazotto. The story put forward by Giazotto is that, after WWII, he supposedly found a small manuscript fragment between the collections of the Dresden Saxon State Library. He allegedly concluded that this was from a second movement of an otherwise undiscovered sonata da chiesa by Albinoni, possibly part of his Op. 4 set. Giazotto then constructed a complete movement based on this theme, which he published in 1958 under the title Adagio in G Minor for Strings and Organ, on Two Thematic Ideas and on a Figured Bass by Tomaso Albinoni. Giazotto never produced the fragment, and no records have been found of it. The scholarly consensus is that the Adagio is in fact a composition of his own, regardless his inspiration source.
The Adagio has become widely popular, and it can be found in many versions and instrumentations. It has been used in many films and television programs, as well as advertisements.
