William Tell Overture on Roland Fr-4x Digital Accordion (Strings from Ketron SD90).

I remember learning this piece as a very young and aspiring accordion player. It was one of a multitude of standard classical accordion pieces back in the 60's (before the British invasion). I thought it a pretty good idea to take another stab at it during this Covid lock-down. Why not? Gioachino Rossini, believed his last opera ¬– “William Tell” – was his crowning achievement. Alas, the four-hour opera, first performed in Paris on August 3, 1829, was not a hit. “The William Tell Overture” was designed to present the day in the life of a Switzerland in revolt. The overture’s finale, “March of the Swiss Soldiers,” is all manic heroics on horseback. No wonder then it was used as the theme song for “The Lone Ranger.” In this finale, the full orchestra performs at a galloping pace that easily brings to mind mounted soldiers riding to the rescue. While inextricably linked now with “The Lone Ranger,” the overture has been used in numerous other popular culture works to increase the sensation of chaos or urgency to a scene.