Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
 

Some time ago, Vegangelica and I agreed that Boccherini deserved to have his own thread. After a titanic struggle with my own inherent giant laziness, :o: finally I've taken the first step. Better late than never.

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My fellow townsman Luigi Boccherini (Lucca, Italy, 1743 — Madrid, Spain, 1805) is an important figure in Music history. He represents a bridge between Rococo and Classicism. Even if you have no idea who Boccherini is, you've probably heard some of his music sometime. For instance, Night Music of the Streets of Madrid. At least its 5th movement. Perhaps because of this:



Boccherini composed around 30 symphonies and one opera, but he especially excelled at chamber music. These two pieces are very famous: the minuet from String Quintet in E Major, Op.11 No.5, and the fandango from Quintet no.4 (G.448):

I enjoy Boccherini's spirited, lively music, which often feels fresh and full of life to me, as if he has condensed a zest for living into song. Here is what I wrote about him in an earlier post:

Hoping to expand my knowledge of his music, I just listened to the following song by Boccherini that I'd never heard before today:

Luigi Boccherini - Rondo for duo cello and piano



And below is more of the "Night Music of the Streets of Madrid," from which you already posted the most vibrant portion, Zaqarbal...but its animated gusto made me curious to hear the rest:

Luigi Boccherini, "Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid," Opus 30 No. 6 (G. 324)
From wiki: "The Night Music of the Streets of Madrid was published years after Boccherini’s death, because, he told his publisher: 'The piece is absolutely useless, even ridiculous, outside Spain, because the audience cannot hope to understand its significance, nor the performers to play it as it should be played.' " He was wrong: the piece isn't useless. :)



Sadly, this is how Boccherini's life ends: "Boccherini fell on hard times following the deaths of his Spanish patron, two wives, and two daughters, and he died almost in poverty in Madrid in 1805." :(

But his music lives on . . . :)

Luigi Boccherini, playing his cello, Circa 1764-1767, artist unknown:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Boccherini.jpg

There certainly is a great amount of music to listen to.
Only his quartets and quintets for strings are over 200.

Well, that seems to be apocryphal. It actually refers to violinist Alexandre Boucher (the story was told by a French writer named Henri Castil-Blaze). Anyway, I've read....

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....another exemplary anecdote: one time, his French editor, Pleyel, insinuated to him that he should adapt his works in order to make them more commercial. And Boccherini replied:

The guy had a strong personality, that's for sure.

Regarding his supposed death in poverty, as I said at the other thread: That's what was assumed until recently. A few years ago, one of his direct descendants studied his testament and other documents, and he came to the conclusion that Boccherini had a quite decent economic level at the end of his life.

By the way, I've followed in Boccherini's footsteps (be jealous :D). Three houses in which he lived (obviously, buildings have been refurbished several times since then, but they're still in use) in Madrid: from 1785 to 1787 (left) and from 1787 to 1802 (right).