BOCCHERINI, LUIGI  

The reputation of Boccherini rivalled that of Haydn, if the nick- name "the wife of Haydn" may be accepted as evidence of contemporary fame. He was a virtuoso cellist and worked first in his native Lucca and then in Vienna, before moving to Paris and thence to Spain, where he seems to have remained from 1768 until his death. There he was in the service of the Infante Don Luis and various other patrons, and was appointed court composer to King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia, himself a cellist, although there is no evidence of his actual presence at Potsdam. He died in apparent poverty in 1805.

Chamber Music

Boccherini is popularly known as the composer of the famous Minuet, taken from one of his quintets, written for a string quartet with an additional cello. The set of Quintets for string quartet and guitar includes a thoroughly Spanish Fandango.

Cello Concertos

Of Boccherini's eleven surviving cello concertos the Concerto No. 7 in G major is probably the best known, closely rivalled by a B flat Cello Concerto arranged by the 19th century cellist Grützmacher.