Gioachino Rossini
Rossini's operas crackle with melodic invention and theatrical pace: comic peaks such as The Barber of Seville and La Cenerentola sit beside grand statements like Guillaume Tell, all driven by rhythmic snap and bright instrumental colour.
Across nearly forty stage works he pushed both opera buffa and opera seria forward, packing arias and ensembles with tunes that travel and overtures that still open the night. The craft is lean and quick: clean vocal lines, sudden accelerations, self-borrowed ideas remade for new drama, and a wit that never softens the architecture. Chamber pieces, piano music and sacred scores sit beside the theatre hits, including the Petite messe solennelle and the late salon Péchés de vieillesse. On record the same spark shows in wind and organ transcriptions of the Barber and William Tell, and in the gleeful Cat Duet: music built to entertain without apology.
Gioachino Rossini is featured on the following titles
A Night at the Opera
Highly acclaimed wind arrangements of favourite operatic excerpts, given as they were heard in Vienna between 1792 and 1821, when Harmonie ensembles carried the latest stage hits beyond the opera house.
Compositions by Gioachino Rossini also appear on
Organ at the Opera
One of Move's all-time best sellers. Sydney City organist Robert Ampt and Amy Johansen play popular organ duets on the famous Ronald Sharp organ in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.
Polyphony
The Phones were an a cappella group with a comedic bent. This 1984 album largely reflects their interest in contemporary music of the preceding twenty-five years, mixing pop classics with Australian songs and original pieces.
Jinker Ride
A recital collection celebrating the modern pianoforte, drawing on its full range of colour and touch across repertoire from Scarlatti and Clementi to Liszt, with special place given to Australian works by Dorian Le Gallienne and Raymond Hanson.
Amy Castles: Court Singer
Amy Castles, the Australian dramatic soprano once hailed as the “Australian nightingale”, left landmark gramophone sides from London and Australian sessions in the early twentieth century. This disc gathers eighteen restored arias, salon songs and ballads.
Rhythm of Life
A delicious blend of highlights from Broadway shows, popular music theatre, traditional songs and operatic hits, sung with style by Melbourne vocal ensemble Pot-Pourri.