The Carnival of Venice, is a folk tune[1] popularly associated with the words "My hat, it has three corners." A series of theme and variations have been written for solo trumpet, as "show off" pieces that contain virtuosic displays of double and triple tonguing, and fast tempos.
Many variations on the theme have been written, most notably those by Jean-Baptiste Arban, Del Staigers, Herbert L. Clarke for the cornet, trumpet, Euphonium, Francisco Tarrega and Johann Kaspar Mertz for classical guitar, and Ignace Gibsone for piano. Chopin's "Souvenir de Paganini", dedicated to the composer and violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, is as well a variation on this theme. A more recent piece making use of the theme, by Allen Vizzutti, called "The Carnival of Venus," is regarded as one of the most difficult trumpet pieces ever written due to range and technical demands.
The piece has also been arranged for tuba, notably played by John Fletcher (tubist) and available on the CD The Best of Fletch. Also Roger Bobo (Tubist) on Tuba Libera (cd). Another tubist whose performance of the piece is noteworthy is Øystein Baadsvik, a Norwegian tubist.