The William Tell Overture - Finale

An overture is an introduction to a piece of music or a group of related pieces. It usually contains the main musical themes that are found throughout the rest of the music. In the case of the William Tell overture, it is the introduction to a four-hour opera by Gioachino Rossini. The overture itself is in four parts, but I've just included the last part. I included it as a fun, dramatic opening and because I thought it might be familiar to you.

It was famously used as the theme music for an old radio and TV show called "The Lone Ranger". You actually probably know the second part, "Call to the Cows", too. It was often used in Warner Brothers cartoons to signify the beginning of the day.

William Tell was the last of Rossini's 39 operas. William Tell himself was a (legendary?) Swiss figure who is best known for shooting an apple off the head of his own son with an arrow. He didn't do it for fun, though. A cruel representative of the emperor forced him to do it. Later, Tell killed him, a situation that eventually led to a rebellion against the emperor and the formation of the Swiss Confederation.