Apart from his forty operas, many of which belong to the strict canon of nineteenth-century music, Rossini’s other output is far less known. It comprises several dozen cantatas and occasional religious works, songs and some instrumental pieces comprising of a few sinfonias, cycle of variations and duos and trios for various instruments. The earliest composition in this last group is Six Sonatas a Quattro, penned by Rossini in 1804, at the age of twelve. How was it possible for a twelve year old, with practically no regular musical education, to write six quite successful and unpretentiously charming sonatas, which have never ceased to arouse the interest of chamber ensembles and publishers? This new release on DUX gives the listener the opportunity to make that discovery.