Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
...and there was much rejoicing, May 16, 2001
There is a shameful dearth of recordings of Boccherini's string quintets in today's marketplace. Why such a masterful group of works goes untouched is a mystery to me, but it was with great pleasure that I snapped up this marvelous CD by Fabio Biondi and his Europa Galante cohorts. This disc is everything you would hope for in a chamber music recording: excellent recorded sound; sharp, witty playing; and intriguing compositions. I have yet to be bored by any of Boccherini's works, and am surprised that these hundred-some string quintets (with two cellos) are not treated with the same level of respect as, say, Scarlatti's sonatas. The inclusion of the famous minuet from Op. 11 no. 5 is a little gratuitous, but the players take at it with such verve that I can hardly complain. Seek out the Smithsonian Chamber Players' out-of-print recording of Op. 11 nos. 4, 5 and 6 on DHM. The Op. 11 quintets feature more virtuosic writing for the cello than these Op. 25 quintets, which are a nice vehicle for Biondi's considerable talents (though the group as a whole performs very well together). Really fascinating music. If you're a lover of the Classical era, of Boccherini, or of chamber music in general, I highly recommend this CD. I hope there's more to come.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A lesser-known delight, April 29, 2005
"Boccherini who?" you ask. While not anywhere near as widely known as peer composers like Haydn or Mozart, the Italian Boccherini wrote a plethera of chamber music during his years serving under the Spanish court palace - an appointment not unlike Haydn's at Esterhaza - with some of it approaching these other masters. Notably, a lot of it focused on the cello - to the delight of cellists throught the centuries. You can hear the likeness of Haydn's tricks and Mozart's wit in these works, composed around 1778. Yet, Boccherini's twin-cello quintets (and especially in the guitar quintets on other discs) are quite different and have a most captivating "Spanish flavor" to them that bursts forth with a spring-like freshness and life.
Readers of "The Rough Guide to Clasical Music" will have seen this CD featured. And deservingly so as it is a really wonderful, full-of-life recording of some unique music of the classical era. And who more to bring them to life than Fabio Biondi and The Europa Galante. It is pretty much a given that Fabio Biondi will bring a dynamic and vibrant quality to whatever music he is playing and these quartets are no exception to that rule. It is not quiet chamber music to play in the background, but chamber music that jumps out of the speakers and captivates your senses. This is due in part to the wider dynamic range (pp to ff) that the Galante uses to create more drama, especially in the lively outer movements. For those shopping for the "Minuet in A," look no further - this one is a gem, full of charm and whimsy. I have many recordings by Biondi and placed this among my absoulte favorites. Thankfully too these quartets are recorded in very good sound on Veritas with a presence that is not too upfront or overly "spacious" - allowing clear definition of textures especially in the quiet passages which Biondi plays equistely. The Europa Galante bring just the right flair and "sunny Spanish flavor" to Boccherini's cello-rich music that make this CD an enthusiastic recommendation. It garnished a Gramophone "Gem" award as well. It won my own "Little Gem" award as well! Pure delight. Compositions - 5 stars; Performance - 5 stars; Sound - 5 stars.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you enjoy Haydn and Mozart...., April 1, 2008
...it stands to reason that you might like Luigi Boccherini as well. He was an eminently successful composer of the same era (1743-1805), a famous cello virtuoso and a rival in fame to Haydn amongst his contemporaries. But he's also had a reputation as a lightweight - Haydn's Wife, he was mockingly called - and he's lacked the modern symphonic advocacy that Mozart has enjoyed. Besides, his music is outside my own performing repertoire, which concentrates on the 16th & 17th centuries. So I've ignored him. I've skipped concerts featuring his works. 'There's only so much listening time in a life,' I've thought...
...but sometimes a single brilliant performance can compel a guy to open his ears. That's what has happened to me with old Luigi. A few weeks ago I came upon this CD of Boccherini's String Quintets, performed by an ensemble I admire greatly, Europa Galante, led by my favorite Italian Baroque violinist, Fabio Biondi. I was also intrigued by the possibilities of the string quintet with two cellos, which reminded me of the rich bass timbres of the viola da gamba quintets of Elizabethan and Jacobean England. So I ordered it... and the rest is a tale of extravagance, with me starring as the spendthrift who bought eleven CDs of Boccherini in one order.
The vigorous delicacy and sonorous transparency (how do you like those oxymorons?) of Europa Galante suits Boccherini's musical concepts perfectly. Harmonies and rhythmic patterns need to shift in these quintets with Italianate grace rather than Austrian earnestness.
Boccherini spent most of his composing years in Spain, in the same courtly ambiance in which Goya painted his early portraits. There are atmospheric movements in many of his pieces - fandangos and minuets with castanets - that might easily sound like background music for a Spanish travelogue except that Boccherini handles them with concentration and complexity. There are also movements of "Sturm und Drang" as stormy and drangy as any of Haydn's best; clearly Boccherini was aware of and influenced by the Mannheim school. Then there are moments of exuberance that carry me back to Vivaldi, to the manly modes of the high Baroque before the perfumed Rococo became the fashion.
Boccherini was himself a cellist, and he stretched the capacities of his favored instrument to the maximum, sending the cello into its highest register above the viola for extended passages. I'm sure I hear a murmur of cellists shouting Hey! How come it took you so long! I'll wager every cellist in the world keeps a bust of Boccherini on her/his mantelpiece. Beyond these wonderfully rich quintets, there's a virtuoso's repertoire of cello sonatas, cello concertos, and for good measure a set of quintets with double bass. Europa Galante has also recorded a disk of Boccherini's string quintets with guitar as the fifth voice. Glorious!
The comparison with Mozart is inevitable. Boccherini wrote nothing, as far as I know, to match Mozart's greatest operas, symphonies, or his requiem, in emotional intensity. But Boccherini's chamber music and cello concerti can hold their own next to Mozart's galant best in similar genres, in terms of musical detail and stylishness. Join the Boccherini Club! No penalty for late comers like me!
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~ Tristan Fry
~ Georg Philipp Telemann
~ Antonio Vivaldi
by Luigi Boccherini 
