Rossini – Tarantella from La Boutique Fantasque (String Quartet Score) – Score Digital Download

In 1830 Rossini abandoned his highly successful career as an opera composer, and for the remaining years of his life composed almost nothing but an immense number of musical trifles under the general title Sins of Old Age. In 1919 Respighi gathered many of these pieces together and orchestrated them for the ever-popular ballet, La Boutique Fantasque. This string quartet arrangement by Carlo Martelli is one of the dance numbers derived from Respighi's score. Suitable for colleges, conservatories and professionals.

In this arrangement by Carlo Martelli of Rossini's popular overture, the storm sequence has been omitted and the final famous gallop transposed up a semitone to allow for ease of execution and increased resonance for the string quartet medium.

Rossini retired from a highly successful and lucrative career as an opera composer before he was 40 years of age, and although he lived almost another 40 years he wrote very little more music except for some short piano pieces of a dance-like nature that he called Sins of Old Age. In 1919 Respighi gathered many of these pieces together and orchestrated them for the ever-popular ballet La Boutique Fantasque. This string quartet is the second of two medleys arranged by Carlo Martelli that includes music from the ballet.