5. A Rossini overture and 4 familiar miniatures: Grieg 'Morning', Bach 'Jesu Joy', Catalani 'Ebben, ne andro', Poulenc 'Les Biches'.

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Welcome back to Perfect Pitch with Nick Healy Hutchinson and his fresh approach to the world of classical music. Whether you're an expert or a beginner, old or young. Perfect Pitch has something for everyone.

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Born in 1792, Rossini took to composing from an early age and had completed an astonishing 39 operas in his mid-30s. At which point he called it a day. No one's quite certain why he decided to retire that age, but no doubt a combination of poor health and the amounting of a small fortune had something to do with it. As it turned out, his health improved considerably when he moved to Paris, where he stayed for most of the rest of his life, nearly another 30 years of it. But Florence was probably the city which was closest to his heart, and his remains are now in the basilica of Santa Croce. Rostini was lauded wherever he went, which makes it all the more odd that the popularity of his music waned within the years of his death and stayed that way until the middle of the last century. Come to think of it, I think this is the first time in all the podcasts I've played his music myself. It's so much done by such an early age. I suppose an element of repetition in his work is inevitable. Certainly, there's a distinct, even slightly predictable pattern to his style, which makes it very easy to identify. It's music which is defined by simple melodies combined with speed and a partiality to pretend that's the gradual building up of volume. But its opera buffa, which are operas written with humor and satire, normally based on everyday situations, were in much demand in his lifetime. So much so that when he turned his hand to a serious drama, Ortello, the audience demanded he deliver a happy ending. I wonder what the bar would have had to say about that. The Italian girl in Algiers was his first major triumph. Here is the overture to the opera, which combines all the features that characterizes his biking music. Neville Mariner and the Academies of Martin in the field get the freshness of Justin Right. He was a bit of a foodie, to which his rotund stature bears witness. In Paris, a chef, Marie-Antoine Calem, designed a dish in his honour, which we now know as Tourne de Rostini. If meat is not your thing, this is not going to be a recipe for you. But it's a carnivore's delight. Filet mignon, gently fried in butter, then placed on a crouton, topped with some lightly fried foie garard, garnished with slice of truffle, and finally a splash of Madeira. Back to the music. In 1876, Edvard Grieg had accepted the commission to write the incidental music for Henry Ibsen's play Pierre Gint. This wasn't really Grieg's bag at all. He was much more at home in writing miniature pieces. This required about one and a half hours of music, and he described the task as an unmanageable one. But perseverance paid off, and the job was completed in Divert's first performance that year. After which, Grieg extracted some parts to form two separate suites, which, alongside his cannoncerto, have now become his most popular and frequently played works. Morning opens the first tweet. On his travels, Piergind wakes up in the Moroccan desert to find that his fellow travellers have nicked his boat and left him there. This has always struck me this quite improbable scene, as boats and deserts are not things which obviously go together. It's dawn, and the climax of the pizza is in the middle as the sun bursts through. I'm sure the pizza will be very familiar, as it's been used many times for various backings, but that doesn't make it any less charming, especially in the exchanges between the woodwind. Morning from the first pig in suite is played here by the Burley Philharmonic, conducted by Herbert von Carrier. These cantatas would have been accompanied by organ, and that's certainly the way we've got used to hearing them now. But over the years, a number of celebrated soloists have adapted them for other instruments as well. And the grand piano, with its constant tone, but its ability to preserve the note once the finger has moved on, makes, I think, for an extra fluidity in the music. So let's listen to one of those versions now on the piano, arranged and played by Mara Hessen. Alfredo Catalani's last opera, first performed in 1892, was a resounding success. Despite its slightly unappealing title, La Wally. The heroine over that name is in love with one man, but her father has other ideas and would prefer that he married somebody else. In the first act, she sings this glorious aria, A Ben Neandro Lontana, about her desire to leave home and travel far away, never to return. It was made famous in the 1981 film Diva. Nowadays, a bit like the Vorjak's song to the Moon, it's often sung as a standalone piece. And there's a very good reason for that. It has more than enough appeal and merit to be worth listening to on its own. But you're unlikely to see the opera stage anytime soon. Happy operas have a reputation for exaggerating their dramatic and sometimes prolonged episode of the finale. Whether it be a murder, an illness, an execution, or a suicide. La Wally takes it to another level and presents a particular difficulty for its production. Designer. A lot of winds of the day in the end between the couple, but with the setting being in the Tyrolean Alpha. It's been golfed by an avalanche. Since it was made famous in the film Diva, it's appropriate that it's sung here by one of the great divas of the last century, Maria Callas. This has wonderful control, colour, and restraint until she really lets rip at its climax. It combines all sorts of influences from his classical heroes, as well as a mix of ragtime and some of his Russian contemporaries. Here is the Rondo, played by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Charles Dutois.

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