Orchestral percussion as trivial or unimportant simply because, to the untrained eye (or ear), they seem easy to play. The truth is, however, that auxiliary percussion often requires the most use of extended techniques and that the parts for these instruments are frequently the most difficult. Other auxiliary percussion instruments include: Crash cymbals have been used in an orchestral setting since the time of Mozart, when he adopted their sound from traditional Turkish bands to be used in his opera "Abduction from the Seraglio". Since then, crash cymbals have become one of the most written for percussion instruments in classical music and
Mozart, l'opéra rock je passe"). The scene moves to Antonio Salieri, walking with Rosenberg, the Steward to Emperor Joseph II, and Gottlieb Stephanie, a librettist who has recently finished his piece "The Abduction from the Seraglio". Rosenberg tells Salieri of the newcomer, Wolfgang, and his aspirations of composing a German opera, which Rosenberg then proceeds to mock for its lack of eloquence. Upon the appearance of the Emperor, Rosenberg attempts to discourage him from choosing Wolfgang as the composer for his commission on the basis of his desire to use German instead of the more traditional Italian. Rosenberg explains that Wolfgang insists on