Ridolfo Luigi Boccherini (born February 19, 1743; died May 28, 1805) was an Italian composer and cellist from the Classical era. His music often had a courtly and elegant style, even though he lived and worked away from the main musical centers of his time. He is most famous for a minuet from his String Quintet in E major, Op. 11, No. 5 (G 275), and his Cello Concerto in B flat major (G 482). For many years, the Cello Concerto was played in a version changed by German cellist Friedrich Grützmacher, but it has since been returned to its original form. Boccherini is also well known for his piece called Night Music of the Streets of Madrid, or Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid.

Boccherini wrote several guitar quintets. The final movement of his Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D major (G 448) is a fandango, which is a lively Spanish dance.

Biography

Luigi Boccherini was born in 1743 in Lucca, Italy, into a family with a strong musical background. He was the third child of Leopoldo Boccherini, a cellist and double-bass player, and the brother of Giovanni Gastone Boccherini, a poet and dancer who wrote libretti for composers Antonio Salieri and Joseph Haydn. Luigi began his music lessons at age five with his father, who taught him to play the cello. At nine, he studied with Abbé Vanucci, the music director of San Martino Cathedral. When Luigi turned thirteen, his father sent him to Rome to study with Giovanni Battista Costanzi. In 1757, Luigi and his father moved to Vienna, where they worked as musicians for the royal court at the Burgtheater.

In 1768, Boccherini traveled to Madrid and joined the employ of Infante Luis Antonio of Spain in 1770. The Infante was the younger brother of King Charles III of Spain. During this time, Boccherini received support from the royal family. However, the king disliked a section of a new trio and ordered Boccherini to change it. Instead of making the change, the composer doubled the passage, which led to his dismissal. After this, Boccherini accompanied the Infante to Arenas de San Pedro, a small town in the Gredos Mountains of Ávila. There, along with the nearby town of Candeleda, he composed many of his most famous works.

Later, Boccherini was supported by patrons such as Lucien Bonaparte, the French ambassador to Spain, and King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia, who was also an amateur cellist and flutist. His life became difficult after the deaths of his Spanish patron in 1785, his two wives in 1785 and 1805, and his four daughters in 1796, 1802, and 1804. Boccherini died in Madrid in 1805, leaving behind two sons. His body was buried in the Pontifical Basilica of St. Michael in Madrid until 1927, when his remains were moved and reburied in the church of San Francesco in his hometown of Lucca.

Works

Much of Boccherini's chamber music follows models created by Joseph Haydn. However, Boccherini is often given credit for improving Haydn's model of the string quartet by making the cello more important, while Haydn often used the cello in a supporting role. Some influences on Boccherini's style come from the works of Giovanni Battista Cirri, a famous Italian cellist born before Boccherini and Haydn.

Boccherini was a highly skilled cellist who often played violin music on the cello at the correct pitch. He developed this skill by replacing sick violinists during tours. His exceptional ability with the cello earned praise from his contemporaries, including Pierre Baillot, Pierre Rode, and Bernhard Romberg. This skill is clearly shown in the cello parts of his compositions, especially in the quintets for two cellos, which are often treated like cello concertos with string quartet accompaniment.

Boccherini composed a large amount of chamber music, including over one hundred string quintets for two violins, a viola, and two cellos (a type he helped create, unlike the more common arrangement of two violins, two violas, and one cello). He also wrote about a dozen guitar quintets, though not all survive, nearly a hundred string quartets, and many string trios and sonatas, including at least 19 for the cello. His orchestral works include about 30 symphonies and 12 virtuoso cello concertos.

Boccherini's works have been organized and listed by French musicologist Yves Gérard (1932–2020) in the Gérard catalog, published in London in 1969. This catalog uses "G" numbers to identify his compositions.

Boccherini's style is known for its Rococo charm, lightness, and optimism. His music shows creativity in melody and rhythm, and often includes influences from the guitar traditions of Spain, his adopted country.

Recordings

• Complete Symphonies, Volumes I–VII, performed by Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss and conducted by Johannes Goritzki, CPO 999401-2
• Cello Concertos, performed by Enrico Bronzi and the Accademia I Filarmonici di Verona, Brilliant Classics 92618 (2005)
• Complete Flute Quintets, Volumes I–III, performed by Rafael Ruibérriz de Torres and the Francisco de Goya String Quartet, Brilliant Classics 96074 (2021)
• Early Italian String Quartets, String Quartet in C minor, op. 1 No. 2, performed by the Butter Quartet
• Guitar Quintets, Volumes I–III, performed by Zoltán Tokos and the Danubius String Quartet, Naxos 8.503255
• String Quintets, Volumes I–X, performed by La Magnifica Comunita with Enrico Casazza on violin, Brilliant Classics 92503, 92889, 93076, 93346, 93566, 93820, 93744, 94002, 93977, 94961 (2005–2011)

Boccherini's music can be heard in the 2003 feature film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, including the little-known piece Passa Calle from La Musica Notturna di Madrid.