Known by and large for his seemingly inexhaustible supply of lighthearted operas, Gioachino Rossini did not restrict himself to that genre alone. As a boy of only 12 years, he was already accepting commissions to write small chamber works, including the present set of six string sonatas commissioned by the wealthy Agostino Triossi. Triossi was an accomplished amateur double bassist, a fact to which Rossini paid homage by scoring the six sonatas for a quartet made up of two violins, cello, and bass.

John Taverner (1490-1545) and William Byrd (1540-1623) born a generation apart, both hailed from Lincolnshire, and left a collection of choral works that rank (with that of Thomas Tallis) as some of the finest of its age, or indeed any other. Both men worked in turbulent times, the older Taverner grew up during the reign of Henry VII, and became Informator Choristarum at Cardinal College, Oxford, Cardinal Wolsey's new college in the university. Here Taverner recruited 16 boys and 12 men for the choir.

Youngest son of J.S. Bach, Johann Christian Bach rose to prominence in England during the early Classical period much the same as his father dominated the German Baroque. His writing was influenced by his father, of course, but also by the fashions being explored by Haydn. J.C. Bach also served as a bridge to Mozart, whose work and early writings were also influenced by the junior Bach. A total of 15, three-movement symphonies were published under Opp. 6, 9, and 18.