Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)!

[SonicMan46]

This is a really wonderful set of performances and is a must for every serious Boccherini fan.

The Goritzki CPO box does take up space (8 jewel cases) and is over 7 hrs of music - for those wanting just a 'sampling', a number of other recordings have been mentioned in previous posts - in my collection, I also have the 2-CDs w/ Michael Erxleben (came as part of a 10-CD Capriccio box), and contains 7 symphonies (Nos. 13, 15, 16-20) - attached are some reviews of the Goritzki box and the Erxleben recordings.  Dave

   

[aligreto]

Either way, people, sample the symphonies 

[JBS]

I've wishlisted the set, but noticed Amazon lists another CD that's not part of it.


Meanwhile I've just received this set

[SonicMan46]

I've wishlisted the set, but noticed Amazon lists another CD that's not part of it.
 

Meanwhile I've just received this set

Well, looks like the Goritzki CD (inserted the front cover above) is a mixture of different works, including two cello concertos (Luigi's cello works, sonatas and concertos are all delights so just a small sampling on that disc).  As to the Flute Quintets, the 3-CD set from Brilliant includes his Opus numbers in that genre (my recordings of the same works shown below) - I also have Rampal doing a collection of 6 which followed the Op. 55 set w/ the Gerard numbers listed (Source); one issue of interest on this 3-disc set is whether period instruments are used?  Dave

[JBS]

Well, looks like the Goritzki CD (inserted the front cover above) is a mixture of different works, including two cello concertos (Luigi's cello works, sonatas and concertos are all delights so just a small sampling on that disc).  As to the Flute Quintets, the 3-CD set from Brilliant includes his Opus numbers in that genre (my recordings of the same works shown below) - I also have Rampal doing a collection of 6 which followed the Op. 55 set w/ the Gerard numbers listed (Source); one issue of interest on this 3-disc set is whether period instruments are used?  Dave

The flute and viola are modern copies of 18th century instruments, the cello is dated 1922, the violins are 18th century instruments, and the artist bio for the quartet talk about HIP practice and continued work on the "Early Music scene", while the flautist's bio says he studied historical flutes but now plays 18th to 20th century chamber music. So it seems PI adjacent.

I have the Auser Musici CD.

[SonicMan46]

The flute and viola are modern copies of 18th century instruments, the cello is dated 1922, the violins are 18th century instruments, and the artist bio for the quartet talk about HIP practice and continued work on the "Early Music scene", while the flautist's bio says he studied historical flutes but now plays 18th to 20th century chamber music. So it seems PI adjacent.

I have the Auser Musici CD.

Thanks for the information above - need to read up more on the Brilliant release, especially if period flute copies were used. Just checked my 4 recordings of Luigi's flute works (shown below - also * in the quote) - from reading the booklets, only Carlo Ipata w/ the Auser Musici (Op. 19) uses a period flute, a replica by R. Tutz after Gresner; others appear to be 'modern' flutes.

Boccherini wrote a lot of flute music for various chamber combinations (could find only 2 concertos (G. 489/575) - the listing quoted below is from the outstanding Quebec catalog (LINK given there) - I count over 50 compositions; the * ones are in my collections, as stated, including the Divertimenti - I would love to hear some of those early works, particularly w/ the clarinet - will check Spotify and Amazon later.  P.S. reviews attached of the 3 CD Brilliant set for those interested.  Dave

Addendum: flute used by Rafael de Torres is one after August Grenser (a=430 Hz) by Martin Wenner (2010); Brilliant booklet attached HERE.

G. 155-158 (No Opus) Trios for flute
G. 260/1-3 (Op. 5) Quartets for flute
G. 261 (No Opus) Quartets for Flute
G. 262/1-3 (No Opus) Clarinet/Flute Quartets
G. 263/1-3 (No Opus) Clarinet/Flute Quartets
G. 264/1-3 (No Opus) Clarinet/Flute Quartets
G. 419-424 (Op. 17) Flute Quintets*
G. 425-430 (Op. 19) Flute Quintets*
G. 431-436 (Op. 55) Flute Quintets*
G. 437-442 (No Opus) Flute Quintets*
G. 461-466 (Op. 16) Flute Sextets*
G. 489 & 575 (No Opus) Flute Concertos
G. 492/1-6 (Op. 16) Flute Divertimento
* recordings I own; G = Gérard; (Source)

     

[SonicMan46]

Thanks for the information above - need to read up more on the Brilliant release, especially if period flute copies were used. Just checked my 4 recordings of Luigi's flute works (shown below - also * in the quote) - from reading the booklets, only Carlo Ipata w/ the Auser Musici (Op. 19) uses a period flute, a replica by R. Tutz after Gresner; others appear to be 'modern' flutes.................
Dave

Addendum: flute used by Rafael de Torres is one after August Grenser (a=430 Hz) by Martin Wenner (2010); Brilliant booklet attached HERE.

     

Well, I decided to add the Torres 3-CD set of Flute Quintets (Op. 17, 19, 55) (below left), a period instrument recording w/ the flute copy described in the quote above; of the recordings above shown, Ipata w/ Auser Musici also uses a period flute copy (also described above); the others appear to be modern instrument recordings, including Rampal doing the non-Opus numbered works, G.437-39;441-2.  For those interested in the Oboe Quintets (below right) - the recording in my collection is from the 10-disc Capriccio box w/ Lajos Lencsés on presumably a modern instrument.  For those wanting to add flute recordings to their collection, reviews are attached of most shown - for starters, I'd suggest the three disc box w/ Torres, inexpensive and covers all of the Opus sets.  Dave

 

[Spenserian]

Next to those CPO, Naxos, Hyperion, Capriccio, Sony and Brilliant Classics discs of Flute and Oboe Quintets, I have one more, this one:



These performances are also great, valuable addition to the above!

[SonicMan46]

Next to those CPO, Naxos, Hyperion, Capriccio, Sony and Brilliant Classics discs of Flute and Oboe Quintets, I have one more, this one:

 

These performances are also great, valuable addition to the above!

Hi Spenserian - welcome to the GMG forum - thanks for posting yet another set of Flute Quintets - inserted above the 6 works on the recording from Boccherini's early Op. 17 & 19 sets of six works (Source) - he wrote another 14 or so quintets from the link - just curious if the notes indicate whether a period flute was used?  Thanks - Dave

[Spenserian]

Notes give no indication, it seems to be a modern flute. Reviewer on musicweb was ecstatic: "If Boccherini had written just one of these quintets and nothing more he would be regarded as a great composer"!

Have discovered three more CDs of Boccherini flute quintets, will try and get these and report back:





And this disc has two more:

[SonicMan46]

Notes give no indication, it seems to be a modern flute. Reviewer on musicweb was ecstatic: "If Boccherini had written just one of these quintets and nothing more he would be regarded as a great composer"!

Have discovered three more CDs of Boccherini flute quintets, will try and get these and report back:

   

And this disc has two more:

Great searching - will be interested in your comments if these are available for purchase, DLs, or streaming - have not checked on Spotify.  Now, the previous recording a few posts back is available at BRO, but I already have duplicates in those Opus #s - would like to obtain some period performances in the later works?  Dave

[Mandryka]

https://www.discogs.com/master/2517115-Luigi-Boccherini-Quartetto-Esterh%C3%A1zy-Streichquintette

Very much enjoying this LP, which has been transferred on symphonyshare - very good transfer

[Spenserian]

This disc has the only other performances, that I know of, of a number of the flute quintets without opus numbers premiered on record by Rampal. They only managed to get 3 on the disc because they take all the repeats, so in the third movement of the G439 they last over 7 minutes, Rampal only about 3:55. Quintetto Tourte's playing in that same movement is faster though. A valuable addition, I think.

[SonicMan46]

Just finished a new biography on Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805):

Luigi Boccherini: Musica Amorosa (2022) by Babette Kaiserkern (short bio of her below from this Amazon LINK - fuller description of the 262 page book also) - written originally in German, translated well into English by Rhona Brose; short forward by cellist Steven Isserlis.)

The book is $62 USD on Amazon so I did an inter-library loan through our local library.  The book is researched well with Kaiserkern alternating chapters between chronologic biographical sections on the composer's life and chapters on the major genres of his music concentrating on the chamber works; short chronology of Luigi's life plus an Opus catalog of his works (including Gerard numbers) at the end. The only other bio I've read on him was written in the 1960s by Germaine de Rothschild - although I don't remember the latter well at the moment, the newer one is certainly a recommendation.  Dave

Babette Kaiserkern holds a doctorate in Humanities from the Freie Universitat, Berlin with a focus on Hispanic literature and music history. She has published essays on European and Latin American cultural history. As a jounalist,she collaborates regularly with music festivals, orchestras and magazines in Berlin and Potsdam and lectures widely on Boccherini, his life and work.

 

[Jo498]

Do the biographies comment on the waning of Boccherini's fame at the end of his life and afterwards?

A few days ago I ragequit another Hurwitzer video because while I sympathize with promoting underrated composers, including Boccherini, DH again came up with BS about "German musicologists" being responsible for the fact that the Italian Boccherini ended up at the margins of the repertoire.

This does not compute. There was no established musicology before the late 19th century; sure, there had been music criticism and commentary since Burney and before in the 18th century. But how on earth should some German critics or professors decades after Boccherini's death manage to "promote" Haydn and Mozart to the negligence of Boccherini?
This would simply not have worked if enough works by Boccherini had been repertoire staples in 1890 or so (like presumeably some Haydn, Mozart and lots of Beethoven was). Neither would Spanish or Italian musicians have cared much about what some Professor Doktor Friedrich Wilhelm von Bieberach would have written on Boccherini being inferior to Mozart, if they had wanted to play Boccherini.

There's also been by now 100 years or more in which (German or Nongerman) musicologists and musicians could have promoted Boccherini (cf. the revivals of Monteverdi and Vivaldi in the mid 20th century). But if they did it, with only moderate success. The Quartetto italiano recorded one single Boccherini LP and it apparently was never issued on CD (before their big box came out).
(Edit: Apparantly Q Italiano had made another LP in the 50s and at that time there were also a few recordings by Q Carmirelli and by a Boccherini quintet (of quintets), so there was already an effort contemporary to the Vivaldi revival.)
Methinks such negligence can hardly be blamed on stuffy nationalist German professors around 1900.

(It's also ironic that a considerable amount of Boccherini recordings of the last 30 years was on German labels Capriccio and cpo, so much for the evil huns suppressing Italian music in favor of Reger's or Pfitzner's...)

[Florestan]

The only attack on Boccherini that I know of coming from a German is Louis Spohr's comment upon hearing a quintet: This is not music, but Spohr had a vested interest in promoting his own quintets so it's hardly an authoritative comment (actually, it's stupid). Boccherini's music was very popular in France in the first half of the 19th century but its falling from grace cannot be attributable to any German conspiracy unless we will admit that the same Germans also plotted Haydn's falling from grace, whose reputation was at a very low ebb at the end of the 19th century. 

[SonicMan46]

Do the biographies comment on the waning of Boccherini's fame at the end of his life and afterwards?

A few days ago I ragequit another Hurwitzer video because while I sympathize with promoting underrated composers, including Boccherini, DH again came up with BS about "German musicologists" being responsible for the fact that the Italian Boccherini ended up at the margins of the repertoire..................

Well, I don't remember much about the older bio (read a while back) - the new one does cover the end of Boccherini's life well. Below is a chronology I put together from several sources; he was doing well working for Don Luis (1770-85), then as 'chamber composer' for Prince/King Frederick William II (1787-97); whether he lived in Berlin or stayed in Spain during the second employment is uncertain but his manuscripts were the property of the Prussian King and were not published (so no royalties, but his salary was apparently quite decent). After 1797, his life became more difficult financially and also tragically (losing 2 daughters and his second wife); some money from publishing and possibly other now lesser sources? He died in Mardrid and his body lay buried in the Pontifical Basilica of St. Michael in Madrid until 1927, when his remains were repatriated and buried in the church of San Francesco in his native Lucca.

Also discussed at the end of the newer books was the 1993 exhumation and autopsy of Boccherini's body with findings of arthritis and bony deformities, in part related to playing the cello for so many years.  His death was due likely to a respiratory infection added to chronic tuberculosis.  Dave

1743 - Born in Lucca
1757 - 64 - Vienna Trips
1764 - Back in Lucca
1765 - Milan (Sammartini)
1766 - Death father; left for Paris
1768 - Madrid ('persuaded Spanish ambassador)
1770 - Married first wife, soprano Clementina Pellicia
1770-85 - Employment of Infante Luis Antonio (king's brother)
1785 - Both Don Luis and his first wife, Clementina died+
1787 - Married second wife, Joaquina Porreti (no children)
1787-97 - Appointed chamber composer Frederick William II*/**
1802 - Death of 2 daughters
1805 - Death of 2nd wife/3rd daughter
1805 - Died Madrid

*Prussian Prince then King; successor cancelled pension
**Boccherini may have lived in Berlin or stayed in Spain
+Produced 5 children (3 girls; 2 boys) - only the boys survived Luigi