Luigi Boccherini

The first disc showcases four of Boccherini's six Divertimenti. These works were originally published as Sextets, but the chamber ensemble set-up employed here is an alternative apparently sanctioned by Boccherini, who further allowed that the double bass part be omitted where desired; the flute is, however, obbligato. These works go beyond the divertimenti of Mozart and Haydn: they possess the same depth and spirit of imagination as Boccherini's String Sextets (available on PE469), which were written slightly later. Both usually have four movements, two fast and two slow, with a third-movement minuet.

The most comprehensive collection of music by Luigi Boccherini ever issued, 52 CDs brimming with charm, elegance, wit and catching melodies!

The most comprehensive collection of music by Luigi Boccherini ever issued, 52 CDs brimming with charm, elegance, wit and catching melodies!

The most comprehensive collection of music by Luigi Boccherini ever issued, 52 CDs brimming with charm, elegance, wit and catching melodies!- Born in Lucca, Italy, Boccherini (1743-1805) demonstrated prodigious musical talent early on, studying in Rome and later moving to Vienna to continue his musical education. He became a virtuoso cellist, and his compositions reflect a deep understanding of the instrument's capabilities.

The most comprehensive collection of music by Luigi Boccherini ever issued, 52 CDs brimming with charm, elegance, wit and catching melodies!- Born in Lucca, Italy, Boccherini (1743-1805) demonstrated prodigious musical talent early on, studying in Rome and later moving to Vienna to continue his musical education. He became a virtuoso cellist, and his compositions reflect a deep understanding of the instrument's capabilities.

Sweet, intimate, and very dry, Fabio Biondi's of Boccherini's Guitar Quintets with players from Europa Galante and guitarist Giangiacomo Pinardi is ineffably charming, but possibly too etiolated for some taste. But it has the feel of polished oak and such a wonderfully evocative sense of place and time that it is hard not to fall for Biondi and Boccherini. Much of the appeal, of course, is Boccherini's music: filled with luminous light and most tender affection, Boccherini is the chamber music equivalent of the young Goya, and it would take a hard heart not to be beguiled by Boccherini's La ritirata di Madrid or swept up in his wonderfully stylized Fandango. Biondi and Europa Galante may be fay, but they match the music's delicate delights. Virgin's sound is close but with a sense of space around it.

Cellist Ophélie Gaillard and Pulcinella Orchestra focus on Luigi Boccherini, Italian composer and first virtuoso cellist in history. Born in the Tuscany, Boccherini then went to the Court of Prussa and Spain. His musical education looks like a journey around Europe, as it used to be. Long eclipsed by the violin, star of the string instruments, the cello slowly fit in the eighteenth century repertoire thanks to composers who played the instrument themselves. The now famous Suites of Johan Sebastian Bach are the first master pieces composed for the cello. Then Luigi Boccherini strengthened its place in the musical creation, thus becoming to cello what Vivaldi was to the violin one generation earlier.

Quintets with double bass? The combination is rather rare, but to Boccherini, court composer to the Infante Don Luis and then to Charles II in Madrid, it must have had a special significance, because these three works are unique among his 125 string quintets.

Quintets with double bass? The combination is rather rare, but to Boccherini, court composer to the Infante Don Luis and then to Charles II in Madrid, it must have had a special significance, because these three works are unique among his 125 string quintets.

Boccherini's string quartets occupy a central position in his extensive oeuvre, and next to Haydn he is certainly the most important composer of this still new genre in the 18th century. Exceptional listening experiences and light music at the highest level in exciting interpretations! D.Steppuhn in FonoForum 9/94: "Welcome repertoire enrichment in exemplary performance." Fanfare 11/94: "These are quartets that deserve a place alongside those of the three great names in classical music." Fanfare (USA) 4/92:" cpo has recorded the quartet's fresh sonority in perfect sound. Special praise goes to the 14-page text (in English, with another 14 pages in German), with highly informative biographical and musicological information. At last the course of Boccherini's life becomes comprehensible, his importance adequately assessable." Gramophone Critics Choice 12/95: "Outstanding release."