Rossini and Gossip

Today, I’m going to examine another piece MVYSO is playing in the May concert: The Overture to “L’Italiana in Algeri.” I’m also going to tell you all the gossip I know about the composer.

This composition was written for the Opera “L’Italiana in Algeri” by Giocchino Rossini when he was 21. Writing the entire opera, according to him, only took 18 days!

Rossini was famous for writing good music, fast! One of my favorite stories tells of Rossini sitting in bed writing a composition, when it fell beneath the bed. Instead of rising of picking it up, he wrote an entire new page! Laziness, or genius?

Rossini is famous for writing exciting and melodic operas that combine both dramatic and comedic elements. He started writing music as a young man, and but famously quit while in his thirties, to move on to another of his loves, fine cooking! He was such a fine amateur chef and lover of food, that several dishes now bear the name “a la Rossini” meaning they were developed for him, or even by him.  

(He also ate a lot of this good food, and by age 36 looked like this. Compare to his earlier picture!) 

One of the most famous is “Tournedos Rossini,” a French main dish composed of: bread croutons, filet mignon, foie gras and black truffle slices with Madeira wine sauce.   

It looks pretty good, but one question: what exactly is “foie gras?”

Rossini was famous while he was alive, but also knew that such fame was a double edged sword. His audience could turn against him at any time. They would either love his opera, and throw roses and chant “Brava! Encore!” or throw rotten fruit (an important accessory for any serious opera goer of the day) and even burn down the theater! Rossini was known to actually sneak out of the theater after the premier, and wait in his house to see whether the shouts of the crowds outside were of praise or an angry mob!

Certainly someone who lived with such a sense of drama would translate that to his music. Rossini’s compositions are famous for having not only beautiful melodies, but dramatic and often surprising dynamic changes and crescendos. In other words, the music would change from a subtle whisper to an exuberant shout, and crescendos would take up an entire page, building to an impressively deafening triple fortissimo.

Below I have included a video of the overture to “L’italiana in Alegri.”  Check out the 7:08 mark for the “Rossini crescendo." It begins very delicate and quiet, and takes the rest of the piece to build, slowly, but very noticeably. 

Rossini always make me want spaghetti, so while I go make some, I'll leave you with this question. 

 If you were as skilled a composer as Rossini, would you have left it in the middle of your life? Or would you have continued? Do you agree with his decision? Please leave you comments below, I'd really like to know!

Next time, the Grieg Piano Concerto!