Beethoven and his contemporaries the third movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony has an opening theme that is very similar to the one in Mozart's 40th Symphony. Beethoven wrote cadenzas (WoO 58) to the first and third movements of Mozart's Piano Concerto in D minor. Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) was an Italian composer known for his numerous operas including "The Barber of Seville" and "William Tell". When Rossini visited Vienna, he made several attempts to meet Beethoven, who was then 51 and in failing health. Finally, Rossini was able to arrange a meeting with Beethoven through the help of Giuseppe Carpani, an Italian poet living in
Armida (Rossini) Armida (Rossini) Armida is an opera in three acts by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto ("dramma per musica") by Giovanni Schmidt, based on scenes from "Gerusalemme liberata" by Torquato Tasso. "Armida" was written to be performed at the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, on 11 November 1817 to celebrate the opening of the rebuilt opera house, which had been destroyed by fire the previous year. Isabella Colbran sang the title role, which is one of the longest and most demanding that Rossini wrote, with difficult coloratura passages of every kind during the entire opera. The most notable