RTWSO: Rossini, Beethoven, Sibelius

The composer dubbed 'Mr Crescendo' gets this afternoon's concert under way. The whole of Rossini's opera The Italian Girl in Algiers is still regularly staged, unlike many other operas where only the overtures get performed nowadays. The overture begins with a slow introduction featuring an exposed oboe solo. Then, as one might expect, momentum and volume soon increase and we're off in typical Rossini fashion racing towards the finish line.