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 Postino (opera) by Catán's lovely score is universal: the safely melodious terrain of international opera." It was a view echoed by Joshua Kosman in the "San Francisco Chronicle" who described the opera as a "lovely though limited" work and wrote that "operagoers who complain that they don't write 'em like they used to can take comfort from "Il Postino"". Filmed during the premiere run with the original cast in October 2010, this recording was first broadcast in 2011 as part of the PBS television series Great Performances and was released on DVD the following year. Il Postino (opera) Il Postino is an