Tosca Fantasia Op. 171 – for Clarinet and Piano

When della Giacoma wrote his “Tosca Fantasia” in 1900, he was serving in the Italian army as a clarinetist and band master. His paraphrase is totally in tune with the times, since music lovers were wild about chamber-music arrangements of large, popular works for performance in concert or in the home. In his “Tosca Fantasia,” della Giacoma uses various themes from Puccini’s opera, including the famous clarinet solo that precedes Cavaradossi’s aria “E lucevan le stelle.” The solo instrument shifts very effectively between bel canto vocal lines that allow the clarinet to fully revel in its beauty, and the virtuoso arabesques that can be performed so compellingly on the clarinet.