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
Il re Il re Il re ("The king") is a novella or opera in one act and three scenes by composer Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. The opera premiered at La Scala in Milan on 12 January 1929. Unusual for a 20th-century opera, "Il re" was written specifically as a vehicle for Toti Dal Monte, a coloratura soprano of the old school. Dal Monte performed the work a number of times during her career but after her retirement, the opera quickly fell into obscurity. In December 1949, Arturo Toscanini, who had conducted the world premiere of the opera,