Boccherini - Cello Quintets 1 - Hyperion: CDA67287 - download

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With more than 100 Boccherini cello quintets to choose from, the problem for anyone wanting to make recordings is which to choose. The E major G275 (formerly Op 13 No 5) makes an obvious first... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 More…

Catalogue No: CDA67287
Label: Hyperion
Length: 61 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

March 2002

Editor's Choice

Boccherini: String Quintet Op. 11 No. 5 in E major, G275

Work length23:19

$4.40

$6.00

Richard Lester (cello)
RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet

I. Amoroso

Track length5:30

$1.10

$1.50

II. Allegro e con spirito

Track length7:28

$1.10

$1.50

III. Minuetto – Trio – Minuetto da capo

Track length3:09

$1.10

$1.50

IV. Rondo: Andante

Track length7:12

$1.10

$1.50

Boccherini: String Quintet Op. 42 No. 1 in F minor, G348

Work length18:02

$4.40

$6.00

Richard Lester (cello)
RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet

I. Allegro moderato assai

Track length6:05

$1.10

$1.50

II. Minuetto con moto – Trio – Minuetto da capo

Track length2:41

$1.10

$1.50

III. Adagio cantabile

Track length4:38

$1.10

$1.50

IV. Rondo: Allegro giusto

Track length4:38

$1.10

$1.50

Boccherini: String Quintet Op. 42 No. 4 in G minor, G351

Work length20:28

$4.40

$6.00

Richard Lester (cello)
RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet

I. Moderato

Track length5:36

$1.10

$1.50

II. Minuetto – Trio – Minuetto da capo

Track length4:52

$1.10

$1.50

III. Larghetto amoroso

Track length5:08

$1.10

$1.50

IV. Finale: Allegro ma non presto

Track length4:52

$1.10

$1.50

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Before Boccherini settled into the life of a composer he was a virtuoso cellist, and it was during his employment in the court of King Carlos III that he started writing cello quintets for himself to perform with the quartet already in residence. The combination of quintet with two cellos freed one of them from the obligation to provide the bass line, so Boccherini was able to exploit the instrument's full range and write for an ensemble of five soloists. He was able to further develop this sound when later employed by the cello-playing Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, where his quintets with two cellos were especially welcomed. And so were written a magnificent series of works combining lively, robust passages with elegant, suave melodic writing, and passionate driving rhythm with sweet seductive passages, all underpinned by rich five-part harmony. It should be noted that track three of this disc is the 'Boccherini Minuet' in its original guise. Now in its sixteenth year, the RTE Vanbrugh Quartet is firmly established as one of Europe's most successful string quartets, and on this disc they are joined by Richard Lester, one of Britain's most outstanding cellists, co-principal cellist of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and member of The Florestan Trio.

Reviews

2010

With more than 100 Boccherini cello quintets to choose from, the problem for anyone wanting to make recordings is which to choose. The E major G275 (formerly Op 13 No 5) makes an obvious first choice, when the third movement is the music universally associated with the very name of Boccherini, his Minuet. It's particularly refreshing in the Vanbrugh performance to hear it set in context against the work's other three movements, with their approach, light and crisp, paying obvious tribute to period practice in the choice of tempo – far faster than one usually associates with 'Boccherini's Minuet'.
The format of a string quintet with two cellos instead of two violas was very much Boccherini's special genre. Himself a cellist, it allowed him to free at least one of the cellos from following the bass line, so as to soar lyrically. To have this fascinating music vividly recorded in such fine performances, both polished and refreshing, with Richard Lester a perfect partner for the prize-winning Vanbrugh Quartet, makes an ideal sampler disc.

Boccherini - Cello Quintets 1

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