Luigi Bassi (1833 - 1871) replaced Ernesto Cavallini as principle clarinet at the La Scala opera house in Milan in 1854.

A graduate of the Milan conservatory, Bassi was considered one of the best Italian clarinetists of his day.

As was common in nineteenth-century Italy, Bassi's clarinet works are mostly based on opera themes from the great opera composers of his day, Verdi, Bellini, Donizetti, and others.

Today, his best-known work is the Concert Fantasia on Movtives from Verdi's op...