Off the stage

The coming of the railways to Belgium, Gioachino Rossini

“…What follows is a potted version of 'Un petit train de plaisir comico-imitatif ' , a disastrous train journey translated into sound, what Richard Osborne describes as a 'not altogether amusing piano piece…in which genial mimicry of the train' s progress is overtaken by a fatal derailment, the contemplation of the flight of the victims' souls and a sardonic coda in which the heirs of the more well-to-do victims cut a few celebratory capers.' 8 The signal bell sounds and the passengers climb into the carriages:…”