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Wednesday 26 August 2009
Tune of the Day: William Tell Overture
from Gioachino Rossini's opera “William Tell”
The overture to the opera William Tell, especially its high-energy finale, is a very familiar piece. There has been repeated use (and sometimes parody) of this overture in the popular media, most notably in the US as the theme music for the Lone Ranger radio and television shows. It was also featured in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, recorded on a Moog synthesizer by Wendy Carlos.
The overture is actually written in four parts. The last part, the “Finale”, is arguably the most famous, consisting of an ultra-dynamic “cavalry charge” galop which, in the original score, is heralded by trumpets and played by full orchestra.