The overture to the opera William Tell (Guillaume Tell) was composed by Gioachino Rossini. William Tell premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, after which he went into semi-retirement, although he continued to compose cantatas, sacred music and secular vocal music.
The overture paints a musical picture of life in the Swiss Alps, the setting of the opera. It was described by Hector Berlioz, who usually loathed Rossini's works, as "a symphony in four parts." But unlike an actual symphony with its distinct movements, the overture's parts transition from one to the next without a break.
The finale, often called the "March of the Swiss Soldiers" in English, is in E major like the prelude, but it is an ultra-dynamic galop heralded by trumpets and played by the full orchestra. It alludes to the final act, which recounts the Swiss soldiers's victorious battle to liberate their homeland from Austrian repression. Although there are no horses or cavalry charges in the opera, this segment is often used in popular media to denote galloping horses, a race, or a hero riding to the rescue. Its most famous use in that respect is as the theme music for The Lone Ranger which usage to that end has become so famous that the term "intellectual" has been defined as "a man who can listen to the William Tell Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger."
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