Despite them being his claim to fame, however, there’s more to Rossini than his 39 operas. Here are just 10 other cool facts about Rossini that you can use to impress your opera-loving friends.

1. He was a leap-year baby. Rossini was born February 29, 1792. A few months before he died, he celebrated his 19th “actual” birthday.

2. He wrote the bulk of his operas in only 10 years. Rossini composed 30 of his 39 operas between 1812 and 1822. His last and one of his most famous operas, however, was written in 1829 – Guillaume Tell (William Tell).

3. He loved fine food. His biographers noted that when he was a child, Rossini worked as an altar boy just so he could drink the sacramental wine left over after mass. When we moved to Paris, he became close friends with a chef who dedicated recipes to Rossini and, in turn, the composer wrote piano pieces dedicated to entrees and desserts. He also once linked coffee and operas noting that the effect of caffeine on the body diminished quickly. He reportedly said, “Coffee is a matter of fifteen or twenty days: luckily the time to make an opera”. Learn more about coffee and classical music.

4. His operas are among the most performed in the world. Rossini is right up there along with Verdi, Mozart, and Puccini in terms of how often their operas are performed. Interestingly, although William Tell was one of the grandest operas of its time, it is rarely performed today (outside of the Overture). It was reported that in 2017/2018, there were only 32 productions of it in the world. Compare that to 889 of La Traviata and 760 of Carmen.

5. Although he was said to be rather jovial, he actually suffered from neurasthenia and depression. Neither condition was recognized at the time. Specifically after his semi-retirement at the age of 37 (semi because he retired from opera, but continued to write smaller pieces), he would experience long periods of deep depression and insomnia. He also became obese and began to have suicidal thoughts. It is said that the death of his mother also led him to resent the remaining living woman in his life – his second wife Olympe. After he returned to Paris in 1855, it is said his musical spirits were once again lifted.

6. After his death, his wealth was used to set up a home for retired opera singers. When Rossini passed away in 1868, his second wife, Olympe, inherited a large sum, which, when she passed, was used to establish a conservatory of music in Pesaro, Italy (his birthplace) and a home for retired opera singers in Paris.

7. He was a man of great wit who loved to entertain. Later in his life, Rossini was said to have been a witty conversationalist and he enjoyed entertaining friends (which goes hand in hand with his love for fine food). He was wealthy and in-demand socially. He also reportedly said or wrote some very interesting things. Here are just a handful of Rossini quotes:

• Give me the laundress’ bill and I will set to music even that.
• Monsieur Wagner has good moments, but awful quarters of an hour!
• Wait until the evening before opening night. Nothing primes inspiration more than necessity, whether it be the presence of a copyist waiting for your work or the prodding of an impresario tearing his hair. In my time, all the impresarios in Italy were bald at thirty.

8. His tomb in Paris is empty. Rossini died in Paris and was buried at the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery (where you can find other notable names like Chopin, Molière, Jim Morrison, and Oscar Wilde). His tomb is absolutely impressive with huge wrought iron doors and a stone surround. However, it is also empty. At his wife Olympe’s request, his remains were relocated to the church of Sta Croce in Florence.

9. He wrote The Barber of Seville in less than three weeks. Rossini allegedly wrote his most famous opera in less than three weeks (he claimed 12 days). While it is well-loved today, it was unsuccessful when it premiered in Rome. This is, perhaps, because the audience preferred an earlier adaptation of the play it was based on – a version by another composer named Giovanni Paisiello. It is said that Paisiello himself provoked the audience to openly voice their dislike.

10. He was nicknamed “Monsieur Crescendo”. This wasn’t a term of endearment, however. His nickname came from his perceived overuse of crescendo for dramatic effect. “The Crescendo degenerated into a mere mannerism with Rossini, in whose works it is used with wearisome iteration,” reads the Crescendo entry of Grove’s dictionary of Music and Musicians.

Caucasian Sketches is a pair of orchestral suites with a rich and colorful sound written in 1894 and 1896. After spending years as a conductor and director of a music school in what is now Tbilisi, Georgia, Ippolitov-Ivanov developed an interest in the Caucasus area’s folk music and was inspired to write a work celebrating the sounds of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Georgia. The basic style of the piece draws heavily on the music of his teacher, Rimsky-Korsakov, but Ippolitov-Ivanov builds upon that with skillful scene painting that transports the listener straight to the mountainous region (particularly the first suite “In a Mountain Pass”).

The most famous section of the suites is the end of the first suite – “Procession of the Sardar”. It is most often performed as a standalone piece in pops concerts. With a noble yet march-like feel, it’s not difficult to imagine the Sardar (a Persian military dignitary) marching in all his regalia with numerous followers. Hear it for yourself on May 3 at our final concert of the season.

So if Ippolitov-Ivanov’s Caucasian Sketches is so admired, why are his other works forgotten? Part of the reason may be that his music has been unfairly labeled as Soviet-approved, meeting all the criteria of the Communist authorities. But with one look at the dates of most of his works, it’s obvious that he developed his style long before the Bolsheviks. It is also said that politically he remained fairly independent, not engaging in quarrels with musicians who sought to develop new music or foster proletarian art.

Another reason the composer’s other pieces like his Armenian Rhapsody were seldom performed after the mid-20th century could be that they are not particularly remarkable according to some critics who note that Ippolitov-Ivanov’s style is too similar to Rimsky-Korsakov’s. However, Tchaikovsky saw something in the composer, helping promote his music in Moscow and Saint Petersburg until his death. Or perhaps it’s because some of his works require daunting instrumentation like his Turkish Fragments which is exotically scored for a large orchestra.

Still, unlike some composers whose works are completely lost to history, at least Ippolitov-Ivanov is remembered for one beautifully evocative piece that can be heard in movies like “The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb” (1964) and Kurosawa’s 1990 film “Dreams”.

Mozetich was born in Italy in 1948 to Slovenian parents but moved to Ontario Canada in 1952. His early musical training included studying piano and he worked toward becoming a concert pianist. He gave up on that idea and entered college studying psychology. He shifted toward music again, however, and pursued studying composition at the University of Toronto. After that, he continued his musical studies in Rome, Siena, and London.

Mozetich’s early influences included romantic composers like Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff as well as what he describes as “super-modern pieces” he first heard on the radio. So it’s no surprise much of his music blends lyricism and romantic harmony with what are decidedly modern elements. Since the 1980s and well into the 1990s and beyond, he has developed a style of post-modern romantic music in which he strives to express beauty, sensuousness, and emotion – things that give him and his audiences pleasure. And on one occasion, he certainly achieved what he set out to do. When the CBC Radio broadcast a concert performance of his violin concerto Affairs of the Heart, the switchboards lit up from coast to coast. There were numerous reports that listeners were so captivated by the music that they remained in their cars, listening to the end even though they had arrived at their destination. The so-called “driveway experience”.

Another piece that captures his signature style, comprising beautiful, spiritual, introspective, and meditative qualities is his The Passion of Angels. Written in 1995 and premiered in 1996, The Passion of Angels is a lush work featuring two solo harps and orchestra. It explores three degrees of passion: longing, desire, and ecstasy. The opening horn solo with accompanying harps announces the essential thematic material and throughout the work, the harps keep the orchestra moving through an emotional voyage.

Mozetich continues to compose to this day and has received numerous awards and recognition including the 2010 Juno Award for Best Classical Composition of the Year and the SOCAN Matejcek Concert Music Prize awarded to the most performed and broadcast composer in Canada (2002 and 2006). Learn more about Marjan Mozetich.

Want to hear The Passion of Angels performed live? Join the Parker Symphony Orchestra for “Passion” on February 15 at 7:30 PM at the PACE Center.

Who is Peter Warlock? The name is probably not familiar to you, even if you are a self-proclaimed classical music buff. The short answer is Peter Warlock is Philip Heseltine.

Born in London in 1894, Heseltine was a music critic (and a combative one at that), editor, and founder of the musical journal The Sackbut. His critical writings were all listed with his given name, but he took on the pseudonym Peter Warlock for his music compositions.

Keep reading and you’ll also see, this wasn’t his only pseudonym!

Why the name Peter Warlock?

As a music critic, Heseltine had become known as a controversial figure, regarded with suspicion and hostility in the London music circle. So in 1918 when he sent seven recently composed songs to a publisher, he used the pseudonym Peter Warlock. The name is said to have originated from his involvement and interest in the occult.

Peter Warlock’s Music

Unlike many well-known composers, Peter Warlock was not formally trained in the area of music composition. He was largely self-taught, but he received encouragement from fellow English composers like Frederick Delius. His body of work consists mainly of songs for solo voice and piano and song cycles (150 of them) like The Curlew and Candlelight, but his Capriol Suite, in particular, stands out and remains his most popular composition.

The Capriol Suite is a set of dances originally written for piano duet. Warlock later scored it for both string and full orchestras. Written in 1926, it was based on tunes in Renaissance dances and in today’s world would be recognized as a sort of “throwback” piece with a few modern harmonies incorporated. It isn’t surprising that he would be inspired to write in an early English music form. Over his lifetime, he made well over 500 transcriptions of early works including compositions from Henry Purcell, John Dowland, and Thomas Ravenscroft. Though the work has six movements, it only takes about 10 minutes to perform. Be sure to check out our performance of it on February 23!

Warlock’s music generally well-received by the public and critics. Ralph Vaughan Williams was reportedly “delighted” with the reception of Warlock’s Three Carols which Vaughan Williams conductor in 1923. Heseltine/Warlock conducted a performance of the Capriol Suite in August 1929 – the only public conducting engagement of his life. The audience recalled him four times after that performance.

Peter Warlock’s Legend

The legend of Peter Warlock is surrounded by controversy and rumor. In addition to his combative and argumentative nature and his interest in the occult, he was said to have experimented with a variety of unconventional practices including cannabis tincture and flagellation. He was also said to enjoy composing obscene limericks and he even edited an anthology in praise of drinking under a new pseudonym, “Rab Noolas” which is “Saloon Bar” backwards.

Although the early 1920’s, particularly 1925-1929, were a fruitful time for Warlock, he found his creativity waning in 1929. Life became even bleaker in 1930 when there was little demand for his songs and he turned to music criticism and transcription again to support himself. He suffered from severe depression and in December 1930, he was found dead in his flat from gas poisoning. The coroner determined that there was insufficient evidence on whether it was suicide or an accident.

His life has inspired numerous characters in both literature and film. D.H. Lawrence based his character, Julius Halliday, on Warlock in the novel Women in Love. Warlock also inspired characters in Aldous Huxley’s Antic Hay and Jean Rhys’ short story “Till September Petronella”. His life was depicted in the films Voices From a Locked Room and Peter Warlock, Some Little Joy, although it was highly fictionalized in the former.

In 1963, the Peter Warlock Society was created and interest in his works began to increase. While some music experts acknowledge that his music today is often regarded as “programme filler” and encore items, his Capriol Suite is still performed frequently to this day. In fact, you can hear the Parker Symphony Orchestra perform it on February 23.

Kalinnikov was born in 1866 in Voina to a police officer. His father, who played the guitar and sang in the local choir, encouraged him to pursue music. He started violin lessons at an early age. The family moved to Oryol and thanks to his family’s ecclesiastic ties, he attended seminary, becoming the director of the seminary choir at the age of 14.

Though he entered the Moscow Conservatory in 1884, he was forced to quit after a few months due to his inability to pay tuition. However, he did win a scholarship as a bassoon player for the Moscow Philharmonic Music School where he studied bassoon and composition.

Poverty throughout his life caused Kalinnikov to find work as much as he could. He played violin, bassoon, and timpani with theater orchestras. He also worked as a copyist and his teacher, Kruglikov, also provided financial help.

His talent, however, did not go unnoticed. Tchaikovsky recognized his potential and in 1892, recommended him as conductor for the Maly Theater and, later, the Moscow Italian Theater. Unfortunately, his health took a turn for the worse just a year later in 1893 and he had to resign. He had contracted tuberculosis.

Kalinnikov moved to the warmth of South Crimea in search for a cure and it was there that he completed both of his symphonies and a variety of instrumental works. Through his music, he strove to portray rural Russian life and its scenery. He created colorful orchestrations and relied on melodies and rhythm to evoke traditional folk songs. His symphonies, in particular, show influence of the Russian masters like Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, but his Second Symphony also includes sudden and obscure modulations reminiscent of Borodin.

The Symphony No. 1 (written between 1894-1895) was dedicated to Kruglikov, his teacher who also helped him financially. Kruglikov was thoroughly impressed by the score and sent it to leading conductors in Russia. The work was premiered at the Russian Musical Society in Kiev in 1897 to an audience that gave both the second and third movements an encore. If you’re curious why, come hear the Parker Symphony Orchestra perform the second movement in February!

Unfortunately, Kalinnikov would spend his remaining days in Crimea. He received some financial relief from Rachmaninoff who visited and saw his poor living conditions. Rachmaninoff also contacted his publisher who paid for three of Kalinnikov’s songs and offered to publish the Second Symphony. Rachmaninoff also arranged for the publication of the piano arrangement of his First Symphony.

Sadly, Kalinnikov died before he was able to benefit from most of these arrangements, around the time of his 35th birthday. The publisher offered Kalinnikov’s widow an unexpectedly high payment for the remaining manuscripts because the composer’s death multiplied the value of his works by ten.

In Russia, his First Symphony remains in the repertory and his place in Russian musical history is secure. And hopefully with more performances in the US and elsewhere, his name will become more familiar with music fans worldwide.

If you’d like to hear the second movement from his First Symphony, come hear the Parker Symphony Orchestra in February.