BRILLIANT CLASSICS Boccherini Edition

The most comprehensive collection of music by Luigi Boccherini ever issued, 52 CDs brimming with charm, elegance, wit and catching melodies! Born in Lucca, Italy, Boccherini (1743-1805) demonstrated prodigious musical talent early on, studying in Rome and later moving to Vienna to continue his musical education. He became a virtuoso cellist, and his compositions reflect a deep understanding of the instrument’s capabilities. Boccherini’s career flourished in Spain, where he served as a court musician for the Infante Don Luis, the younger brother of King Charles III. His time in Spain was highly productive, and he composed a substantial body of work, including over a hundred string quintets, nearly a hundred string quartets, numerous symphonies, and many cello concertos. Boccherini was one of the leading composers of the late 18th century, a friend and colleague of both Haydn and Mozart, and a formidable cello virtuoso. Although less dramatic than either Haydn or Mozart, his music does have moments of explosive drama that appear all the more effective when bursting fortissimo from an otherwise calm movement. The harmonic shifts are also, surprising and used to great effect. His music is sensuous, passionate and dramatic. This new Edition contains a wealth of Boccherini’s music: symphonies, cello concertos, sextets, string quintets, quartets and trios, violin sonatas and duos and the moving Stabat Mater. Played in Historically Informed Performance Practice by leading Early Music instrumentalists.