The Master of Sparkling Melody
Gioachino
Rossini
When?
February 29 1792
November 13 1868, age 76
Where?
Pesaro, Italy
Rossini was a
Classical
composer.
Gioachino Rossini lived during the Classical and early Romantic periods. His operas are full of excitement and humor, and his tunes are so catchy you go home humming them!
For centuries, Rossini’s music has been used in movies and cartoons. Think of the music played while Bugs Bunny gives Elmer Fudd a haircut! That’s from Rossini’s opera Barber of Seville.
Rossini loved telling funny stories in his operas. The Barber of Seville is about a clever barber named Figaro who helps a Count meet the girl he likes by dressing the Count up as a soldier, a student and a music teacher.
Rossini created a musical technique now called the Rossini crescendo, a repeated musical phrase that gets louder and louder, building more and more excitement and making the music more energetic and fun.
In his most famous piece, the William Tell Overture, you can the raging storm and the galloping horses in the music. Click on the link to hear for yourself!
Fun Facts
Both Maestros
Food, Glorious, Food
Rossini was also known for his love of food, and he even created a famous dish named after him—“Tournedos Rossini,” a fancy steak dish.
Both Maestros
Turkey Overboard!
He once joked that he had only cried three times in his life: when his first opera flopped, when he heard violinist Paganini play and when his turkey dinner fell overboard during a picnic!
Both Maestros
Hi Ho Silver!
One of Rossini's pieces was used as the theme song for the Lone Ranger TV show over a hundred years after he wrote it! Listen carefully and you can hear the galloping horses and stomping hooves!
