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February 2005 Program Notes
Quintetti Boccherini
by Mary Burke
Like Johann Pachelbel, Luigi Boccherini has become something of a one-hit wonder for the modern listener. The minuet from his E major string quintet, though slightly less ubiquitous than Pachelbel's Canon in D, turns up in concert and radio programming, at wedding receptions, in commercials, and in movie soundtracks, ranging from The Ladykillers (the Alec Guinness version, not the bad one) to This Is Spinal Tap. Boccherini suffers an additional indignity in that relatively few people even know the name of the piece, much less who wrote it. He also had the misfortune to be working at the same time as Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, whose glory put so many other worthy composers in the shade.
Like Pachelbel, Boccherini deserves better. Though they lacked the lasting fame of their contemporaries, both men had distinguished composing careers, and left behind many works of great beauty and significance. Cellists and flutists tend to be most familiar with Boccherini's works; tonight's concert will let the rest of us in on the secret of his delightful chamber music.
Boccherini grew up in Lucca, Italy, where he began studying music with his father, who played both double bass and cello. Young Luigi made such progress on the cello that he was sent to Rome to study with Giovanni Battista Costanzi, the music director at St. Peter's and a distinguished performer. In his early teens, he and his father made the first of several visits to Vienna, having been invited to play in the imperial theater orchestra. In his twenties, he was giving concerts to great acclaim in France and Italy, and his partnership with violinist Filippo Manfredi led to the formation of the first known professional string quartet.
Boccherini arrived in Paris in 1766, where his virtuoso playing and attractive compositions made him a favorite in musical circles. His works were being published and even having some influence outside of France. However, this popularity did not translate into a steady job, and when the Spanish ambassador suggested that he give Madrid a try, Boccherini readily accepted the invitation. The move proved fruitful for him: He was soon given a position as composer and cellist by the Infante Don Luis (brother to King Charles III), and could marry and settle down.
He remained in Madrid for the rest of his life, in fact. The Infante died in 1785, but Boccherini was engaged by the noble Benavente-Osuna family as composer and conductor of their private orchestra; Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia (an amateur cellist), also hired him to provide chamber music for some years. Unfortunately, by the end of the 18th century, the Benavente-Osunas had moved away from Spain and Friedrich Wilhelm had withdrawn his support. Boccherini then took a much more modest post with a marquis (a guitarist for whom he composed and arranged a number of works), and then with the French ambassador, Luciano Bonaparte.
In his last years, Boccherini suffered from both personal and financial difficulties. He lost his second wife, three daughters, and two sons in rapid succession, and was reduced to living in a one-room apartment. Though he continued to compose right up to the end of his life, his income from this work was clearly much reduced.
Boccherini left us over 450 works, including some 30 symphonies, a zarzuela, eighteen concerti (eleven of them for cello), and various sacred and secular vocal music. The bulk of his work, however, consisted of chamber music for a variety of ensembles. He was a pioneer of the string quartet form, and wrote the first string quintets and the first piano quintets. The quintet apparently appealed to his imagination the most, as he wrote upwards of 200 pieces of that type; he experimented with instrumentation by adding a flute, oboe, piano, or guitar to the basic string ensemble, or by using two cellos instead of two violas.
His style emphasizes varied tone color as well as elegance and lyricism. While generally lacking the drama and vigor of Haydn or Beethoven, Boccherini's music always radiates charm and inventiveness. He assimilated some of the forms and flavors of his adopted country, as seen in the occasional fandango movement, as well as character pieces that depict aspects of Spanish life. The tune in "La Ritirata di Madrid" was originally part of a string quintet (op. 30 no. 6) that gives a soundscape of the city's streets at night, including soldiers marching back to their barracks. Boccherini liked it enough to use it in three more pieces, including another string quintet, the present piano quintet, and a guitar quintet. He once wrote of this music that it was "absolutely useless and even ridiculous outside Spain, because the audience cannot hope to understand its significance nor the performers to play it as it should be played." We respectfully disagree.
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