Editing Gioachino Rossini (section)

===Early works===
With extremely few exceptions, all Rossini's compositions before the ''[[Péchés de vieillesse]]'' of his retirement involve the human voice. His very first surviving work (apart from a single song) is however a [[Six string sonatas (Rossini)|set of string sonatas]] for two violins, cello and double-bass, written at the age of 12 when he had barely begun instruction in composition. Tuneful and engaging, they indicate how remote the talented child was from the influence of the advances in musical form evolved by Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven; the accent is on [[cantabile]] melody, colour, variation and virtuosity rather than [[musical development|transformational development]].{{sfn|Smith|1992}} These qualities are also evident in Rossini's early operas, especially his ''farse'' (one-act farces), rather than his more formal ''[[opera seria|opere serie]]''. Gossett notes that these early works were written at a time when "[t]he deposited mantles of [[Domenico Cimarosa|Cimarosa]] and [[Giovanni Paisiello|Paisiello]] were unfilled" – these were Rossini's first, and increasingly appreciated, steps in trying them on. The [[Teatro San Moisè]] in Venice, where his ''farse'' was first performed, and the [[La Scala]] Theatre of Milan which premiered his two-act opera ''La pietra del paragone'' (1812), were seeking works in that tradition; Gossett notes that in these operas "Rossini's musical personality began to take shape&nbsp;... many elements emerge that remain throughout his career" including "[a] love of sheer sound, of sharp and effective rhythms". The unusual effect employed in the overture of ''[[Il signor Bruschino]]'', (1813) deploying violin [[bow (music)|bows]] tapping rhythms on [[music stand]]s, is an example of such witty originality.{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;2. First period 1810–1813}}{{refn|Although it did not always seem so attractive to its contemporary audiences or musicians: one review of the première of ''Bruschino'' commented "it is utterly incomprehensible how a maestro could write such a meaningless overture, one in which members of the orchestra beat their music stands; this was sinking so low that on the first night the musicians refused to cooperate."{{sfn|Rother|1989|p=6}}|group=n}}