Boccherini's works for guitar were all originally composed for other instruments; he later transposed them for a guitar-playing client. There are no real virtuoso turns, therefore, but what we do get is the composer's usua... more »l fluid, melodic sense, with the guitar adding a Spanish flavor and a catchy, strong rhythmic underpinning. This is most prominent in the terrific, famous Fandango which closes the D major quintet--which gets a toe-tapping performance without ever degenerating into rambunctiousness--and the final movement of the C major, called "La ritirata di Madrid" (The Procession [or "retreat"] from Madrid). This latter is a set of twelve variations depicting a street band's approach and retreat at night in Madrid, with a slow, quiet build-up and a correspondingly measured de-crescendo, as if the procession were fading into the distance. It's a wonderful piece. Between the two guitar-centered works is a plain old string quartet, which is anything but; it contains all of Boccherini's niceties, such as off-the-beat pulses and exquisite lyricism. All of the playing on this CD, under the direction of Fabio Biondi is superb, with the period instruments generating an ideal tonal balance among themselves. --Robert Levine« less
Boccherini's works for guitar were all originally composed for other instruments; he later transposed them for a guitar-playing client. There are no real virtuoso turns, therefore, but what we do get is the composer's usual fluid, melodic sense, with the guitar adding a Spanish flavor and a catchy, strong rhythmic underpinning. This is most prominent in the terrific, famous Fandango which closes the D major quintet--which gets a toe-tapping performance without ever degenerating into rambunctiousness--and the final movement of the C major, called "La ritirata di Madrid" (The Procession [or "retreat"] from Madrid). This latter is a set of twelve variations depicting a street band's approach and retreat at night in Madrid, with a slow, quiet build-up and a correspondingly measured de-crescendo, as if the procession were fading into the distance. It's a wonderful piece. Between the two guitar-centered works is a plain old string quartet, which is anything but; it contains all of Boccherini's niceties, such as off-the-beat pulses and exquisite lyricism. All of the playing on this CD, under the direction of Fabio Biondi is superb, with the period instruments generating an ideal tonal balance among themselves. --Robert Levine
CD Reviews
Boccherini Lives!
06/25/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The world of classical music is in a strange state indeed at the start of the 21st century. While the 120-something-year-old St. Louis Symphony is saved from bankruptcy only at the eleventh hour, and the once-most-recorded orchestra in the world (the Philadelphia Orchestra) can't buy a recording contract with a major label, classical music seems not merely alive and well, based on the number of recordings that pour out each month--it seems absolutely thriving. The answer is a simple one: the so-called major labels are no longer the place to find the best and most exciting classical offerings. Though EMI may have had to cut Robert Alagna (no skin off his nose-DG just signed him on), EMI's more adventuresome Virgin subsidiary can be counted on for some of the best and most innovative musical offerings on CD today.The current disc is certainly a case in point. In the hands of Fabio Biondi and his Europa Galante, Boccherini's chamber works comes fully to life. Most of the reason is sheer musicianship, of course. These guys know how to play music of the 18th century in a way that perfectly balances elegance and élan. There simply has never been a finer rendition of Boccherini's popular "Fandango" Quintet. The balances among the period instruments are so right and proper that among recordings of this work that I know, only here, on this disc, can you realize how masterly was Boccherini's writing for strings. If you already have a recording of this work, forget it--this new recording will open your ears. True, in the last movement Biondi jazzes things up a bit with the inclusion of a part for tambourine. I'm not sure whether there is some ad libidum indication in the score for this instrument or not, but I also don't care. The result is perfection.The same can be said of the other performances on this CD. Boccherini's string quartets have been receiving well-merited attention lately on disc, especially from the Borciani Quartet on Naxos (worth investigating also), but Biondi has picked out a quartet that hasn't been recorded lately, at least as far as I know. The Quartet in G Minor is a serious but charming work well worth getting to know. And the final piece on the disc, the other most famous guitar quintet, "La ritirata di Madrid," emerges as much more than just that celebrated finale. The long, finely written sonata first movement is given its full due, as are the moving slow movement and buoyant Allegretto. But again, in the variation-form finale, there simply are no rivals to Biondi and friends. As with the finale of the "Fandango" Quintet, the producers of the disc help Boccherini out a bit. Here, Boccherini wished to portray the advance and recession of a night patrol in Madrid, and so the members of Europa Galante "proceed" across the soundstage from left to right, taking center stage for a powerful rendition of the middle variations of the movement before receding out of "sight" at last. For me, this isn't mucking around with things; it's just taking advantage of the medium and making "old" music live again for the listener. The best part is that we end up appreciating the achievement of Boccherini all the more. That's what classical music recordings should be all about. And I'm glad to report that thanks to musicians such as Europa Galante, classical music is alive and well in the early years of the 21st century."
Boccherini Fan Club!
Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 04/02/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you've relegated Boccherini to the "safe to play on public radio during rush hour" file, this CD may well change your mind. Europa Galante is the hottest ensemble in Early Music these days, and they make quite a case for Boccherini as a subtle craftsman with sparks of genius, a peer of old Haydn and young Mozart.
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) was a cosmopolitan - born in Italy, visited Paris, spent most of his life in Spain - yet also a provincial, since the tiny city of Avila, where he spent decades, is hardly a capital of anything. This CD includes works that represent, to my fanciful ears, three nationalities in Boccherini: an Italian, an Austrian, and a Spaniard.
The Guitar Quintet in C major (last on the disk) is an easy piece to like - forthright and Italianate, ending with a march in the old tradition of music depicting military manoeuvres. It sounds to me like the work of an aged Vivaldi, wandering toward Trashkania in search of a final cozy courtly berth, overhearing the buzz about the young Haydn and placing his bets accordingly on the new modulations. Listen to one of Vivaldi's mandolin concertos if you want to hear my point. Boccherini's Quintet travels the Romantische Strasse until it marches straight through Mozartenland and halfway to Schubertistan.
The Quartet in G minor (second, without guitar) is pure "Sturm und Drang" Mozart - Boccherini as an Austrian. It bears the comparison. It's rich with chiaroscuro modulations and flashes of arpeggiated lightning from the violins and cello.
The Quintet in D major (first on the CD) is the Castilian Boccherini, complete with castanets. Flamenco, by the way, means Flemish in Spanish, and Avila is hardly Andalucia! If you have an aural image of Spanish music, it probably sounds very like the fourth movement of this quintet, which Boccherini titled "fandango." Possibly the very rhythms and flares you recognize as Spanish entered the world of written music by the pen of Boccherini. But Boccherini makes his evocations of Spain as fresh as gazpacho on a sultry midday plaza.
Caveat auditor: The two quintets with guitar are not display pieces for a guitar soloist. They are string quartets accompanied by guitar; the guitar at times plays the role of a second cello pizzicato, and at times the role of a simple keyboard continuo.
Europa Galante has also recorded a CD of Boccherini quintets with two cellos, which I've reviewed and strongly recommended."
Where's the guitar?
Southern Man | Raleigh, NC | 02/25/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Fabio Biondi and the Europa Galante play beautifully on these three Boccherini works, the most familiar being the "Fandango" quintet. At times, the obvious passion of the musicians can't completely overcome the tedium of some of the less inspiring passages. But, for the most part, the playing is illuminating.
Nevertheless, I have a beef with this CD. I bought it because I'm partial to classical guitar and was disappointed that, in the two guitar quintets, you can barely hear the guitar. Whether that's because of the use of period instruments or because of the way it was recorded matters not. I don't need the guitar ridiculously up front, but I want to be aware of its presence without straining to hear it. If I had listened to this CD blindfolded I might have assumed these were three quartets rather than a quartet and two guitar quintets (although there are a few brief passages during which the guitar can be prominently heard).
Altogether an engaging listen, but if I purchase a guitar quintet, I'd like to hear the guitar."
La ritirata and Del fandango from Fabio
Anton Zimmerling | Moscow, Russia | 10/06/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is an excellent CD of Fabio Biondi & co. That I am giving it only four stars, not five, is due to my personal idiosyncrasies and collecting habits: I love Boccherini and have different recordings of his guitar quintets. As most fellow reviewers here, I am a fan of Fabio Biondi and consider him one of the most interesting artists of our time. However, this CD does not sweep away other versions available. I think that Biondi's previous CD with three string quintets from Boccherini's Op. 25 is in a class of its own, while here you may choose from equally fine performances. Certainly, if you don't want to compare Biondi/Europa Galante with anyone else, you will enjoy this CD. Most listeners will certainly do, except for staunch fans of the classic guitar. For the latter type of people who wish a guitar on the foreground, I recommend Narciso Yepes/Melos Quartet (on DG Musikfest 429512-2). Yepes and his string colleages offer the most wild and impassioned Fandango and La ritirata I know: of course, it is a non-authentic performance on modern instruments. There exists a fine modern version with Richard Savino/Artaria on three disks(HMU). It remains indispensable since it includes all guitar quintets of Boccherini, not just 2-3 of them. It is a robust and balanced reading without great emotions of Yepes/MelosQ.
Biondi's approach is somewhere in the middle. Their rendering of the C major La Ritirata G 453 is nuanced and fresh, with very delicate pianissimo. It is the finest music on this CD, overall. The Del Fangango quintet G 448 suffers from being compiled hastily from two different sources (the base is in D major, the final mvt taken from another source jumps to D minor), but the Fandango itself is of course a big hit in Biondi's version: the added castanets and the strings almost rip and tear. I don't agree with the editorial notes that the string quartet in G minor Op. 24.6 is a 'filler': it is an ambitious and original piece on a level of Haydn's quartets from his middle period. The label 'Sturm-und-Drang-music' proposed by a fellow reviewer suits well: the first movement is brusque and grand, the last two ones are weaker.
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1