Customer Reviews

Boccherini: Cello Concertos Vol. 2 #5-8

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This is a repeat of my review of volume 1:

Boccherini's stature as a great composer stands chiefly on his works for cello - these concertos, the cello sonatas, and above all the quintets for two violins, viola, and two cellos. The two performances by Tim Hugh and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, produced by Naxos, may not set the bar for interpretive brilliance, but Mr. Hugh plays beautifully, with excellent tone in his highest passages, and the price is right. If you haven't given Boccherini a listener's chance, these two CDs, sold separately, might open your ears.

What makes a great concerto? Foremost, I think, is the rich exploitation of the solo instrument's full musical possibilities for expression and for virtuosity. By that standard, Boccherini's concertos for cello are almost unequaled. Boccherini was himself a virtuosic cellist, noted for his ability to make sonorous sense of the instrument's highest range, often playing passages well into the viola's territory. Then there's the dialogue between the orchestra and the soloist, and again I think Boccherini excels. Perhaps he makes it too easy, too graceful, so that the listener is deceived by his effortlessness. Believe me, his technical resources - counterpoint, modulation, etc. - are superb. And of course, there's the bravura of the concerto, the ability to make an emotional impact on a listener. The concerto is the most audience-conscious of all forms; if you listen to these concertos without feeling touched and stirred, then my praise is all hollow and poor Luigi is a second-rater. Personally, however, I relish these cello concertos as much as any of Mozart's except perhaps the inimitable Clarinet Concerto.

Comparisons with Mozart and Haydn seem to be Boccherini's eternal fate. Perhaps I'm overenthusiastic for Boccherini now because I too neglected his music for most of my life. But I don't think so. Besides these cello concertos, I urge all music lovers to listen to the performances of the quintets by Europa Galante and of the Stabat Mater by Ensemble 415 with soprano Agnes Mellon.

Nowadays, the only piece anyone remembers of Luigi Boccherini's vast output is the minuet from one of his string quintets. Boccherini, however, was extremely prolific, and many of his compositions merit more attention than they currently receive. This is especially true of these cello concertos. They combine significant virtuosity with the gracefulness and pleasantness so often associated with the early classical period. Boccherini was often called the "wife of Haydn," but I find his works to be far more interesting and pleasant than those of Haydn, who, quite frankly, bores me. This is a good CD in the limited cello repertoire.

Boccherini: Cello Concertos Nos. 5-8 is a very nice recording under the direction of Anthony Hlastead, Tim Hugh playing the cello and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The sound quality is very crisp and nice. Being a Naxos production the book-let is very short, but they have sellected a very beautifull painting on the cover. John Marlow Rhys has written a very well-written essay on the work in question, i.e., "Cello Concertos Vol. 2". I definitely recommend this recording. 5 well-deserved stars!

Why must any mention of Boccherini invoke Haydn? The comparison of the two composers' styles has become mandatory, as has the re-counting of the stupid "Fraulein Haydn" nickname. It's time for a divorce.

In these works, Boccherini writes for his speciality -- the cello. The comparisons -- since comparisons are mandatory, it seems -- that spring to mind actually are not from the 18th century. Rather, I think of Rossini's solo-cello parts in his opera overtures ("William Tell" is the obvious instance, but there are others) or Offenbach's concerti and cello duo works. In all three instances, you have composers better known for non-cello pieces writing for their shared instrumental speciality.

What these composers have in common is a profound understanding of the sensual, earthy nature of the cello. There are -- as in Rossini, as in Offenbach --- plenty of languorous figures right in the middle (to low-middle) of the instrument's tessitura. See Boccherini's slow movements for what I mean.

Of course, Boccherini, as a virtuoso, would want to show his chops, as well, so there are the obligatory passage-work displays well up the fingerboard in the outer movements. Even these, however, are well-incorporated into the texture of the concertos. They never become tasteless, and never interrupt the developmental flow of the works.

Boccherini's achievement is creating fully-intregrated concerti, where orchestral and soloistic passages work hand-in-hand. Few other composers were as gifted at achieving this balance -- the comparisons, in this respect, would be Mozart or Beethoven.