Gioachino Rossini: Sonata for strings No.6, in D Major

Rossini as a young man, circa 1810–1815

 

(29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868)

was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards for both comic and serious opera before retiring from large-scale composition while still in his thirties, at the height of his popularity.

 

 Sonata for strings No.6, in D Major

1. Allegro Vivace – 0:00​ 2.Andantino – 06:37​ 3. Allegretto – 09:13

 

 

[Excerpt from review by Maureen Buja on ‘Interlude’, 2020]

“When we think of Gioachino Rossini, we think of his operas, his big works, however, there are a set of little-known early works that show us a very different side of the composer. Gioachino Rossini started his life in Pesaro. His father was a brass player and later a horn teacher at the Bologna Accademia. His mother was a singer and the young Rossini both played in the pit orchestra and joined his mother on stage singing. His opera career began in Venice in 1810 and by 1823, he’d turned his attention to Paris. In 1804, however, when he was but 12, he wrote six string sonatas for 2 violins, cello and double-bass. The unusual scoring had to do with the instruments he had at hand. Written for a young merchant, Agostino Triossi, they were played by Triossi on the double bass, two of Triossi’s cousins on cello and first violin, with Rossini on second violin. The last string sonata is the only one with a nickname, La tempesta (The Tempest), and it is in the final movement that we get our storm, starting with the proverbial lull before the storm, a few bolts of lightning in the distance, the wind gradually picking up, some raindrops and then the full mock fury of a small 4-voice storm. The works are pleasant diversions for a summer in the country and have become popular for small ensembles of varying kinds. Rossini published standard string quartet versions of the works in 1823 and 1824 in Paris and later in London. Arrangements have also been made by others for flute, violin, viola, and cello; for flute clarinet, bassoon, and horn; and for solo piano. In the score, Rossini wrote his description of the works and their gestation, describing them as ‘six terrible sonatas that I wrote… in my earliest years, before I had even had any lessons in basso continuo. They were all composed and copied out in three days, and performed in a doggish manner by Triossi (double bass), his cousin Morri (first violin), the latter’s brother (cello), and myself as second violin – no less doggish than the others.’ We no longer believe Rossini’s word on this!”