The carnival of Venice composer Paganini inspired a similar set of variations of the same name. Paganini’s “Carnival” was not published until 1851, more than a decade after his death.

Many variations on the theme have been written, most notably those by Jean-Baptiste Arban, Del Staigers, Herbert L. Clarke for the cornet, trumpet, Euphonium, Francisco Tarrega and Johann Kaspar Mertz for classical guitar, and Ignace Gibsone for piano. A more recent piece making use of the theme, by Allen Vizzutti, called “The Carnival of Venus,” is regarded as one of the most difficult trumpet pieces ever written due to range and technical demands.

Joseph Jean Baptist Laurent Arban (28 February 1825 – 9 April 1889) was a cornetist, conductor, pedagogue and the first famed virtuoso of the cornet à piston or valved cornet. He was influenced by Niccolò Paganini’s virtuosic technique on the violin and in an (arguably successful) attempt to “prove” the cornet as a true solo instrument, developed extreme virtuosic technique on the instrument.

Born in Lyon, France, he studied trumpet with Francois Dauverné at the Paris Conservatoire from 1841 to 1845. He was appointed professor of saxhorn at the École Militaire in 1857, and became professor of cornet at the Paris Conservatoire in 1869, where Merri Franquin was among his students. He published his Grande méthode complète pour cornet à pistons et de saxhorn in Paris in 1864. This method, which is often referred to as the “Trumpeter’s Bible,” is still studied by modern brass players. His variations on The Carnival of Venice remains one of the great showpieces for cornet soloists today.

Carnival of Venice sheet music

Paganini’s Carnival of Venice arranged Arban/Camerata/Childs performed by euphonium soloist David Childs with orchestral accompaniment.

Download the Carnaval of Venice sheet music

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David Childs – Carnival of Venice – Euphonium

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Sándor Lakatos (Niccolo Paganini Carnival of Venice)

Kaori Muraji – Tárrega: Variations on the Carnival of Venice
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Dr. William Takacs, trumpet professor at West Texas A&M University, performs Arban’s Variations on “The Carnival of Venice” at the WTAMU Band Camp faculty recital on July 16, 2007. He is accompanied by Mila Abbasova on piano.
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Allen Vizzutti plays the Carnival of Venice with the Temple Symphony Orchestra in Temple, Texas. He gives an encore of the last variation while spinning his trumpet in a circle, sideways.
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After marvellously playing “Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C”, Sergei picked up his trumpet and played this variation from Arban’s Carnival of Venice. Audio and dynamics are not very clear, as this video was recorded with a digital camera from a big distance (optical zoom x12). St. Moritz, Graubuenden Festival.
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The Carnival of Venice – performed by LEM Ling-ling (Xiaoruan) and LEE Chi-wah (Accordion)
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Flute and Piano Mario Mazza and Massimiliano Giovanardi
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Saxophonist Taimur Sullivan performing Carnival of Venice with concert band.
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Saxophone concerto- Carnival of Venice

Wynton Marsalis performing the Carnival Of Venice with the Boston Pops Orchestra. John Williams is conducting.
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At the end of Arban’s big book, a series of fantasies and airs challenge the technical preparation and fortitude of anyone who wants to call himself a trumpet player. The hardest of these showpieces is Arban’s “Fantasie and Variations on ‘The Carnival of Venice,’” a seven-and-a-half minute cornet solo of hair-raising slurs, arpeggios, intervals, and difficult tonguing and intonation. Arban’s “Carnival” calls for superb phrasing, perfect fingering, and a complete command of the instrument’s range and tonal vocabulary. To play it at all is a rite of passage for trumpeters; to play it well is a testimony to a player’s skill and panache. To play it with an artistry that transcends its complexity is something only the greatest players over the years have been able to do.

Luckily, for listeners today, Wynton practiced his Arban hard – very hard – and one of the many rewards is his bravura cornet performance of “Carnival of Venice,” recorded with the Eastman Wind Ensemble under the direction of Donald Hunsberger. That selection, one of four from Wynton’s 1987 Carnaval disc included here, represents both a culmination and bench mark in the performance of the work. Indeed, on recording after recording since his 1983 Grammy Award-winning debut album of three trumpet concertos (which he later re-recorded, in his 1994 London Concert, also available on video), Wynton has been simultaneously summing up and setting a new standard for the performance of the entire trumpet repertoire. The rich body of his recorded classical work, preserved on more than a dozen discs and highlighted in this collection by 20 different pieces, displays not only startling range but unrivaled musicianship. With a sensibility that directly addresses the ambiguity of human life, Wynton has redefined the ideal of excellence in his art.

Carnival of Venice Marimba
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