"The language of music is common to all generations and nations; it is understood by everybody, since it is understood with the heart."
— Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (1792-1868) was born in the small coastal town of Pesaro in central Italy. He grew up in a household filled with music; his father was a horn and trumpet player and his mother was a singer. His parents traveled from town to town performing during Rossini’s childhood.
In 1804, at the age of 12, Rossini composed six string sonatas wherein his graceful and lively talent were already evident. Then in 1810, Rossini received his first commission to write an opera. The product was a one-act comic opera that displayed his amazing vitality and imagination.
This period was the era of Napoleon, and war raged throughout Europe. Fortunately, Rossini was granted a reprieve from fighting in the war in order to devote himself to his music. During this time, Rossini wrote music at a feverish pace. By 1814, he had already written fourteen operas.
Rossini married the striking soprano singer Isabella Colbran in 1822. That same year, he met Beethoven, and the visit with the masterful composer deeply moved Rossini.
Over the next seven years, Rossini wrote as many as ten operas which were all composed for Isabella’s virtuoso voice. After her death in 1845, Rossini remarried Olympe Pélissier.
Rossini enjoyed the sweetness of life and was a wise man who shined in society with his caustic wit and humor. For much of the first half of the century, he was the most influential composer in the world. Today, he is considered by many to be the first great Italian composer of the 19th century. However, after his death, his music was played less and less. Then, in the 1950s, there came a revival of interest in his works. Some of Rossini’s most well-known operas are the Barber of Seville and William Tell.
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