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| Boccherini: String Quintets; Minuet in A /Europa Galante * Biondi | 
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| Artists: Luigi Boccherini, Fabio Biondi, Enrico Casazza, Europa Galante, Ernesto Braucher, Maurizio Naddeo, Antonio Fantinuoli
Label: Virgin Veritas
Category: Music
List Price: $16.98
Buy New: $9.97
You Save: $7.01 (41%)
Buy New/Used from $8.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  (10 reviews)
Sales Rank: 29176
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 45421
UPC: 724354542121
EAN: 0724354542121
ASIN: B000059GRG
Release Date: May 8, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Quintet Op. 25 No. 6 | | • | Quintet Op. 25 No. 6 | | • | Quintet Op. 25 No. 6 | | • | Quintet Op. 25 No. 6 | | • | Quintet Op. 25 No. 4 | | • | Quintet Op. 25 No. 4 | | • | Quintet Op. 25 No. 4 | | • | Quintet Op. 25 No. 4 | | • | Quintet Op. 25 No. 1 | | • | Quintet Op. 25 No. 1 | | • | Quintet Op. 25 No. 1 | | • | Quintet Op. 25 No. 1 | | • | Quintet Op. 11 No. 5 |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Boccherini wrote about 100 string quintets, and if the three on this disc are anything to go by, they're a treasure trove of inventive music, melodically rich, full of surprising twists and turns, and with moments of great depth (as in the austerely beautiful Larghetto that opens the D minor Quintet). Written during Boccherini's stint as court composer in Madrid, these are "can't-miss" pieces, as is the encore track, the delicious Minuet from the Quintet Opus 11 No. 5, beloved by film fans for its use as a plot device in Alec Guinness's 1955 British comedy, The Ladykillers. The sympathetic playing of these musicians, drawn from the outstanding period performance band Europa Galante, makes this a major addition to the catalogue. The group's leader and first violinist on this disc is Fabio Bondi, whose solo recordings establish him as perhaps the finest of period practitioners. He shines in his solo turns, his colleagues play with spirited abandon, and the result is as delightful an hour of listening as you're likely to find on disc. --Dan Davis
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Superb playing, but what about period instruments? July 26, 2008
This CD is absolutely first-rate, it is one of the best items in Boccherini's chamber discography. When you listen to the members from Fabio Biondi's team, Europa Galante play Boccerini, you realise that a comparation of their leader, maestro Biondi, with mature Yehudi Menuhin, who both performed a as solo violinst and leaded a chamber ensemble, is not too bold. I would even dare to compare Biondi with a supreme violinst of 1930-40s, Adolf Busch, who both leaded Busch Chamber Players and was the primarius of the Busch String Quartet, one of the best in his days. It is a pity that Biondi/Europa Galante have only a couple of recordings, where they play classical string quartets and quintets.
I have heard two of the three quintets on this CD before - Op. 25. No. 1 in D- minor and Op. 25 No. 3 in C. They can be found on SBT 1043-1045 with Quintetto Boccherini - a good, though not very famous group. I still advise buying these three CDs - they contain a lot of Boccherini's fine music not available anywhere else. But Biondi/Europa Galante surpasse Quintetto Boccherini, and not because of the period instruments or a 'historically-informed' approach - they simply play better and more captivating.
The third quintet on this CD - Op. 25. No. 6 in A minor (actually it is the first in Biondi' selection) is probably the most demanding one musically, but the other two are really interesting, too. In all the three quintets the initial two movements are more dramatic and intense, while the final movement(s) are generally more relaxed and straightforward. As an encore, Biondi & Co. play a once popular Menuetto E-dur from Boccherini' Quintet Op. 11 No. 6. The authors of the liner notes and some other reviewers use to express their lack of understanding, why such an ordinary piece has grown so popular in the XIX-XX centuries, while the main heritage of Boccherini was forgotten. Don't get kidded! The menuet itself is charming: the truth is that Boccherini has written many menuets which are equally good.
I am not disposed to find any flies in the oinment, since they are not there. I am however bit puzzled by stock phrases like "thrillingly articulated period instruments" etc. from editorial reviews. What kind of period instruments are meant? In this recording, as listed in the booklet, Fabio Biondi plays an Antonio Gragnani violin (1795), three other players play on modern replicas of Stradivari, only the violist Ernesto Braucher plays a Nicola Amati copy from the XVII century(1650). On Boccherini's portrait from c.1765/68 the composer is seen playing a modern-looking cello, so the meaning of the label 'period instrument', when it is applied to a classical string ensemble and to not to a band containing recorders, chalumeuax, viola'd'amours etc. is really elusive. I would appreciate a comment from either Fabio Biondi or the producers. Gut strings? Almost sure. Non-standard pitch? Maybe, but this is NOT indicated. Lack of vibrato and dynamic accents? Nope, this is not true to fact. I conclude that catchphrases like 'period instruments', 'authentic performance' are nowadays turned into invocations which bear little if any meaning: they are used just as catchwords 'ecological' or 'natural' - in order to convince a buyer that he gets a healthy and a doctor-recommended medicine.
Happily you are not obliged to think what exactly you consume when listening to this wonderful recording.
If you enjoy Haydn and Mozart.... April 1, 2008
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
...it stands to reason that you might like Luigi Boccherini as well. He was an eminently successful composer of the same era (1743-1805), a famous cello virtuoso and a rival in fame to Haydn amongst his contemporaries. But he's also had a reputation as a lightweight - Haydn's Wife, he was mockingly called - and he's lacked the modern symphonic advocacy that Mozart has enjoyed. Besides, his music is outside my own performing repertoire, which concentrates on the 16th & 17th centuries. So I've ignored him. I've skipped concerts featuring his works. 'There's only so much listening time in a life,' I've thought...
...but sometimes a single brilliant performance can compel a guy to open his ears. That's what has happened to me with old Luigi. A few weeks ago I came upon this CD of Boccherini's String Quintets, performed by an ensemble I admire greatly, Europa Galante, led by my favorite Italian Baroque violinist, Fabio Biondi. I was also intrigued by the possibilities of the string quintet with two cellos, which reminded me of the rich bass timbres of the viola da gamba quintets of Elizabethan and Jacobean England. So I ordered it... and the rest is a tale of extravagance, with me starring as the spendthrift who bought eleven CDs of Boccherini in one order.
The vigorous delicacy and sonorous transparency (how do you like those oxymorons?) of Europa Galante suits Boccherini's musical concepts perfectly. Harmonies and rhythmic patterns need to shift in these quintets with Italianate grace rather than Austrian earnestness.
Boccherini spent most of his composing years in Spain, in the same courtly ambiance in which Goya painted his early portraits. There are atmospheric movements in many of his pieces - fandangos and minuets with castanets - that might easily sound like background music for a Spanish travelogue except that Boccherini handles them with concentration and complexity. There are also movements of "Sturm und Drang" as stormy and drangy as any of Haydn's best; clearly Boccherini was aware of and influenced by the Mannheim school. Then there are moments of exuberance that carry me back to Vivaldi, to the manly modes of the high Baroque before the perfumed Rococo became the fashion.
Boccherini was himself a cellist, and he stretched the capacities of his favored instrument to the maximum, sending the cello into its highest register above the viola for extended passages. I'm sure I hear a murmur of cellists shouting Hey! How come it took you so long! I'll wager every cellist in the world keeps a bust of Boccherini on her/his mantelpiece. Beyond these wonderfully rich quintets, there's a virtuoso's repertoire of cello sonatas, cello concertos, and for good measure a set of quintets with double bass. Europa Galante has also recorded a disk of Boccherini's string quintets with guitar as the fifth voice. Glorious!
The comparison with Mozart is inevitable. Boccherini wrote nothing, as far as I know, to match Mozart's greatest operas, symphonies, or his requiem, in emotional intensity. But Boccherini's chamber music and cello concerti can hold their own next to Mozart's galant best in similar genres, in terms of musical detail and stylishness. Join the Boccherini Club! No penalty for late comers like me!
 A Giant Among Composers For Strings March 11, 2008
Boccherini's music is wonderful. His arrangements are beautiful, exciting, playful, and fun. I know that he is considered by many to be inferior to Haydn regarding his compositions with strings. I disagree with this thinking. Surely, Haydn's body of work is impressive and is genious. I feel the same way about Luigi Boccherini. This Cd is excellent. The playing is superb and the recording is top drawer. I have listened to this cd multiple times - it is always a treat. If you enjoy listening to string arrangements, here's a wonderful addition to your music collection!
An excellent performance as usual. June 10, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Europa Galante does not disappoint with this performance and their refreshingly vital interpretation is a joy to listen to.
I only wish they would record on DVD audio or simillar wide bandwidth medium to reproduce more faithfully the full dynamic range of the music.
String Quintets, Boccherini/ Biondi/ Europa Galante May 13, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Boccherini quintets are a rare example of the string quintet format that allowed the composer to play his cello with the resident string quartet. In this recording Biondi brings his spirit to the music and brings it to life with the skill and sentitivity to line and phrasing that the players of Europa Galante bring. The recording is clean well balanced. One does not get the feeling of being inside the instruments favored so much by so many contemprary producers yet it still retains a feeling of intimacy really essential to chamber music. This is a fine recording of works rarely found together with such quality. In some ways the final minuet in A is such a cliche that it spoils the feeling from the quintets.
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