Luigi Bassi

It is believed that Luigi Bassi was born in Cremona, Italy in 1833. Not much is known
about his life. He was student at the Milan Conservatory from 1846 to 1853. While there, Bassi
studied under Benedetto Carulli. In September 1852, Bassi performed I Fiori Rossiniani by
Ernesto Cavallini in a concert at the Teatro Santa Radegonda. The concert was reviewed in the
Gazzetta Musicale di Milano. The reviewer described Bassi’s playing as “showing surprising
mastery for someone who had not yet finished his course at the Conservatory.” Evidence reveals
that Bassi was playing regularly in Milan. In another review by the Gazzetta Musicale di
Milano, a critic comments that Bassi is playing first clarinet at La Scala in Milan. At the time,
Bassi was still a student at the Conservatory. He remained a member of the orchestra until he
died in 1871. Although Bassi wrote 27 works for clarinet, much of it is little known today.
Most of his works were never published outside of Italy and have been out of print for several
years. Of the 27 works, 15 were opera fantasies and 10 others were of other genres (mostly
etudes and pieces used in teaching). Of all 27 works, 2 have remained in standard clarinet
repertoire. The best known is his Concert Fantasy on Themes from Verdi’s Rigoletto. His other
recognized piece, I Puritani is less known, but has been recorded. His La Favorita fantasy was
recorded by Bernhard Röthlisberger and Caroline Hartig. Recently, some Italian clarinetists
have been trying to revive his works. His La Sonnambula was recorded by two members of the
La Scala orchestra, Fabrizio Meloni and Deniz Zanchetta. Alessandro Carbonare has also
released CDs of Bassi’s fantasies.