Rossini - Master Chef and Maestro

To mark the 150th anniversary of Rossini's death, Tom Service salutes the opera composer who was a celebrity in his own time, whose music was whistled in the street. A colourful, jovial character, Rossini was also a renowned gourmand (Bolognese-spattered manuscripts are evidence that he composed while he ate) whose love of food permeated his whole creative outlook. His innovative whipping up of musical excitement earned him the nickname "Signor Crescendo", and he had a healthy attitude to the ephemeral nature of his art: as today's guest, baritone Simon Butteriss, points out, Rossini famously re-composed a page of manuscript that he had dropped while composing in bed, rather than disturb his breakfast tray getting out of bed to pick it up. Rossini understood that music is an essential ingredient of everyday existence - and we all need him in our lives.