The Swinging Rossini Gioacchino Antonio Rossini / Arr. Johny Ocean

Based on music from the William tell Overture

Gioacchino Rossini (17921868) was an Italian composer who composed forty operas in a period of twenty years. Like many famous composers, he received his first music lessons from his father, Giuseppe Rossini, who was a horn player and trumpeter.c He then went to Bologna in 1806, where he studied at the Liceo Musicale, and in 1810 he received his first commission to compose an opera. He achieved great success with his operas Tancredi and L'italiana In Algeri. Two years later, he also composed comic works, also known as opera buffas, such as Il Barbiere Di Siviglia and La Gazza Ladra. He wrote his last major theatre piece, Guillaume Tell, in 1829. Using themes from this famous overture, Johny Ocean has created a swinging and modern arrangement in true James Last style, entitled The Swinging Rossini.