Born in Germany, Hermann Bellstedt immigrated to America in 1867, where his family settled in Cincinnati. A prodigy on the cornet, he played with Patrick Gilmore as cornet soloist and assistant to the famous Ben Bolt, and, in 1904, joined the Sousa Band, playing alongside Walter Rogers and Herbert L. Clarke. Bellstedt's variations on Napoli feature the popular Neopolitan song "Finiculi, Finicula" (composed by Luigi Denza in 1880) that celebrated the funicular railway built up the side of Mt. Vesuvius in 1880. Other popular Amalfi Coast songs include "'O Solo Mio" and "Torna a Sorriento." A variety of solo textures, whimsical to intense, are demonstrated by this Donald Hunsberger arrangement dedicated to Wynton Marsalis as a part of the "Carnaval" project. A grandiose opportunity to feature your cornet or trumpet soloist! (5:45)
