Adagio in G Minor

The Adagio in G minor for strings and organ continuo is a neo-baroque composition by Remo Giazotto first published in 1958. It is usually referred to as "Albinoni's Adagio", or "Adagio in G minor by Albinoni, arranged by Giazotto", but it has been established as an entirely original work by Giazotto. It was supposedly based on a fragment of a second-movement continuo from a "Sonata in G minor" by Tomaso Albinoni purportedly found among the ruins of the old Saxon State Library, Dresden, after it was firebombed by the Allies during World War II, but since Giazotto's death in 1998 it has emerged that the piece is all his composition, as no such fragment has been found or recorded to have been in possession by the Saxon State Library. The piece is most commonly orchestrated for string ensemble and organ, or string ensemble alone, but has achieved a level of fame such that it is commonly transcribed for other instruments. The piece has also permeated popular culture, having been used as background music for such films as Gallipoli, television programmes and in advertisements to the point of becoming a cliché for self-consciously "sad" moments Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.