£13.95
It was once said by a famous man of letters that “Rossini’s genius is that of sheer animal spirits” – this aspect of his work is present in abundance in this sparkling overture deftly arranged here for string quartet by Carlo Martelli.
Piece Description
It was once said by a famous man of letters that “Rossini’s genius is that of sheer animal spirits” – this aspect of his work is present in abundance in this sparkling overture deftly arranged here for string quartet by Carlo Martelli.
Review: “Rossini’s celebrated overture is here skilfully adapted for the intimate medium of the string quartet. The arranger has curtailed the composers original coda and substituted a brief reference to the opening march motif. For colleges, conservatories and professionals.” – New Issues December 1994
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Biography
Biography
Martelli, Carlo
Carlo Martelli was born on the 12th December 1935 in London to an Italian father and an English mother. By the age of eleven Carlo had developed a passion for the symphony orchestra. Just before his twelfth birthday he started taking regular violin lessons and very soon began writing elaborate orchestral scores achieving a mastery in this field by the age of sixteen, by which time he had obtained a County Scholarship to attend the Royal College of Music in London, studying composition and viola. By the time he was 21 he had written a string quartet and had already had a great deal of success with several large scale serious symphonic compositions, notably his Second Symphony, which had many performances and broadcasts by several major orchestras in the few years after its completion. In the 1960's he turned to film music to make a living, and also worked steadily as a freelance viola player. His arrangements for string quartet, trio and other combinations number well over 250 and are played by hundreds of groups all over the world.
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The opera from which this overture gets its title was Rossini's first great success in the field of opera buffa. The overture, now arranged for string quartet by Carlo Martelli, follows the customary pattern for Rossini of slow introduction followed by two skittish tunes with attendant long crescendo to tutti.