Giulio Briccialdi - Il Carnevale de Venezia for Two Flutes and Piano, arranged and edited by Ervin Monroe. Giulio Briccialdi (1818–1881) was one of nineteenth-century Italy’s foremost flutists and composers, renowned for his virtuosity and for helping to advance the modern Boehm-system flute. His Il Carnevale di Venezia is a brilliant theme-and-variations based on the famous Venetian carnival tune, written specifically to showcase the flute’s expressive and technical possibilities.  The work progresses from the familiar melody through increasingly elaborate variations and culminates in a dazzling coda, making it a quintessential Romantic flute showpiece. Although it can be played in its original form for flute and piano using this edition, the piece really shines when performed as a flute duet with piano accompaniment.