Rossini titled this collection 'Quelques riens pour album' ('An album of trifles'), a name characteristic of his personality, being euphemistic and full of self-mockery.
Compositional Technique
Rossini often threads irony through these pieces, sometimes aimed at the audience, himself, or the pianist, whose technique is tested, sometimes to an absurd degree.
Composition History
One piece, 'Douces Réminiscences', was given by Rossini to his friend Carafa to take to a publisher for payment, using a pun on Meyerbeer's successful opera 'l'Africaine' to secure funds.
Historical Context
Rossini was a great admirer of Bach's music and supported the then-recently initiated publication of Bach's complete works by the Leipzig Bachgesellschaft.
Compositional Technique
The collection 'Quelques riens pour album' contains 24 pieces, a number that evokes Chopin's 24 preludes and Bach's 'Wohltemperierte Klavier', both of which Rossini admired.
Performer Biography
Paolo Giacometti, the pianist on this recording, won the Edison Award in May 2001 for best Dutch performing artist.
Composer Biography
The composer, Rossini, spent his final years in Paris, where he produced numerous small-scale, personal character pieces he jokingly called 'Péchés de Vieillesse' (Sins of Old Age).
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