Topic: Gioacchino Rossini (1792 - 1868)

[Florestan]

Jesus Christ, Holy Mother Mary and All the Saints in Heaven! I cannot for the life of me believe, or understand, that there is no stable, dedicated and committed Rossini thread here on GMG.

No, really --- one of the greatest, most influential composers of Western music canon to suffer such criminal neglect is incomprehensible to me ---

--- well, maybe not that incomprehensible, actually, given that there is no corresponding Paganini thread, either...

...anyway, I just want to say that Rossini gave, and gives me, countless hours of pleasure and fun --- and that when I'm blue I have only to reach for The Barber of Seville or Il Viaggio a Reims or Il Turco in Italia or, or, or... --- and instantly a smile gets on my face, the sun gets brighter and my day is made.

Let me quote Heinrich Heine in this respect:

Rossini, divino maestro, Helios of Italy, you who have spread your sounding
rays over the entire world [...] I myself take pleasure
in your golden tones, your melodious lights, your sparkling butterfly
dreams, which frolic about me so delightfully, and kiss my heart as though
with the lips of the Graces.

Amen!

And for all those who might reject his music out of sheer intellectual snobbery, let me also hasten to add that Schopenhauer had no use for Wagner and Hegel had no use for Beethoven --- yet they both professed unqualified love for Rossini.

I just love Rossini's music, be it operas, string sonatas, piano music or songs...

...how about you, gentlemen?

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

Two points:

1) You've only yourself to blame. You've been a member of this site since the olden days, why have you failed to start a Rossini thread up until now? It is not as if the Brian thread was started by edict of the EU commission of composer discussion.

2) Do you really want to start the Rossini thread with a rebuttal to imagined slights by imagined intellectual snobs who look down on Rossini?

I seem to remember liking this DVD.

[Florestan]

You've only yourself to blame. You've been a member of this site since the olden days, why have you failed to start a Rossini thread up until now?

Guilty as charged, your honour!

Do you really want to start the Rossini thread with a rebuttal to imagined slights by imagined intellectual snobs who look down on Rossini?

Actually, no. It was a (bad) joke. 

[JBS]

Okay, how's this for snobbery. 

The opening of the Petite Messe Solonelle is a superb piece of musicmaking in its original form.

[Moonfish]

So....still no love for Rossini in the forum even after Florestan's efforts?

What are your thoughts on this 50 CD behemoth celebrating Rossini's recent anniversary? I'm finding almost no information, reviews or discussions about it anywhere (apart from a review on Amazon.com). Is there a reason for the silence on the internet?

[Florestan]

So....still no love for Rossini in the forum even after Florestan's efforts?

What are your thoughts on this 50 CD behemoth celebrating Rossini's recent anniversary? I'm finding almost no information, reviews or discussions about it anywhere (apart from a review on Amazon.com). Is there a reason for the silence on the internet?

Wow! Thanks for bringing this to my attention. High priority wishlist item.

[JBS]

 >:(x

So....still no love for Rossini in the forum even after Florestan's efforts?

What are your thoughts on this 50 CD behemoth celebrating Rossini's recent anniversary? I'm finding almost no information, reviews or discussions about it anywhere (apart from a review on Amazon.com). Is there a reason for the silence on the internet?

It may have simply got lost in the flood of other boxes.

[San Antone]

Okay, how's this for snobbery. 

The opening of the Petite Messe Solonelle is a superb piece of musicmaking in its original form.

For chamber choir & two pianos, harmonium?  If so, yes, I agree.

I've just discovered the 11 installment series on Naxos of the Sins of Old Age.  Mostly piano music but there's also chamber works and plenty of absolutely wonderful music.  Something to delve into other than his operas.

[Tsaraslondon]

So....still no love for Rossini in the forum even after Florestan's efforts?

What are your thoughts on this 50 CD behemoth celebrating Rossini's recent anniversary? I'm finding almost no information, reviews or discussions about it anywhere (apart from a review on Amazon.com). Is there a reason for the silence on the internet?

Doubtless a bargain, somewhat blighted by the inclusion of the Sills Barbiere. Warner had much better performances to draw from, not least the Callas/Galliera and De Los Angeles/Gui. That said, I'm guessing most people would be buying the set for the rarities, rather than staple operatic fare. I assume there are no libretti, which, for  me, are essential, especially for the less well-known works.

That said, I've always preferred Donizetti and Bellini to Rossini, and I'm not even sure I'd want a 50 disc set devoted to them (well I doubt Bellini's oevre would stretch to that many anyway).

There are a few Rossini operas I'd like to add to my collection (the Otello with Carreras and Von Stade and the Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra with Caballé, the Glyndebourne Le Comte Ory, but that's as much for the singers as the operas in question).

My Rossini collection stretches to Armida (Callas live in Florence; dreadful sound but Callas's performance is so devastatingly brilliant, everyone else sounds plain boring!), Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Callas/Gobbi/Galliera), La Cenerentola (Baltsa/Marriner), Guillaume Tell (Caballé/Gedda/Bacquier/Gardelli), L'Italiana in Algeri (Baltsa/Abbado), Semiramide (Penda/Fogliani) and Il Turco in Italia (Callas/Gavazzeni).

The 50 discs can be had for around £60 but I think there's quite a bit of material here that wouldn't get played much.