An exciting young Dutch-based ensemble, performing on gut strings, brings flair and historically informed style to four little-known examples of repertoire from the dawn of the string quartet. Founded while it's members were students of the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, the Butter Quartet gives vibrant historically-informed performance focusing on Classical-era repertoire. Within it's short history, the Quartet has appeared at several important early-music festivals. At the 2019 York Early Music International Young Artists Competition, they were awarded a place in the prestigious EEEMERGING+ professional development scheme for young European ensembles. With this collection of rarely heard 18thcentury quartets from Italy, the Butter Quartet makes a thrilling debut on record. The individuality of each composer is accentuated by their mutual juxtaposition. In their booklet essay for the album, the Quartet members recount combing libraries for early quartets which have been overshadowed by Haydn's mastery of the genre. All of the composers featured in Scintilla were famous violin virtuosi, with the exception of Boccherini who was a cellist. Their work as performers was inseparable from the music they composed. Italian galant music and performers were characterized by gorgeous tone, operatic sensibilities, and elegant ornamentation. An E flat major Quartet by Gaetano Pugnani (1731-1798) retains traces of Baroque grammar to it's phrasing, while a C minor Quartet by Boccherini (1743-1805) is marked by the surges of pathos that belong to the key signature as reinterpreted by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Maddalena Sirmen (1745-1818) wrote six quartets of which No.5 in F major is a remarkably close-woven and reflective work, hardly a display piece in the tradition of her teacher Tartini but touched throughout with the spirit of subtle innovation we associate with Haydn. Finally, the C major Quartet of Felice Giardini (1716- 1796) is distinguished by an unusually rich viola part which may arise from the circumstances of it's composition in London, where the composer played his violin with both the painter Thomas Gainsborough and the Prince of Wales, who became King George IV

The most emblematic work among Boccherini's descriptive music is his quintet with two cellos La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid, which 'depicts' a cross-section of the night in Madrid, from the sound of the Ave Maria on the city's church bells to the soldiers' patrol announcing the curfew. In the short time-frame of five movements / episodes, the different souls of the night of Madrid are recalled. This is amplified in his revision of the quintet, extending the final movement through the addition of 11 variations on the theme of the Curfew Patrol. Both versions of the Quintet are presented in this recording, along with the other five that make up Opus 30, designated by Boccherini as an "opera piccola" due to their two-movement structure. In them Boccherini explores various expressive characters, both within the individual movements and in their juxtaposition, exploiting peculiarities of his art such as the skilful use of modulations and harmonic contrasts, the subtle balancing of melody and texture and the emphasizing of rhythm in the characterization of musical ideas. The second set of quintets with two cellos that Boccherini composed, numbered as Op. 31, is designated an "opera grande", featuring compositions in more than two movements. The play of characters that Boccherini develops through these quintets appears overall to be even more multifaceted and nuanced than in his Quintets Op. 30. In these quintets, as in the Musica notturna and indeed other chamber works by Boccherini, the sacred and profane meet in the name of musical pathos, putting to the listener an ethical and existential question, as well as an aesthetical one. It will be up to each of us to find an answer on the basis of our own sensibilities. Other information: - Recorded October 2014, January 2015, January & June 2016, Padua, Italy - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Matteo Giuggioli and a profile of the ensemble - The Italian liner notes are available for download at www. Brilliantclassics. com - The continuation of a highly successful and popular series on Brilliant Classics: the String Quintets by Boccherini (1743-1805)! The String Quintet series, of which 17 CD's have already been issued, brought to light many hidden treasures, masterworks of chamber music in pure Classical Style, brimming with vitality, wit and winning charm. - This new recording presents the String Quintets Op. 30 and 31, of which the Op. 30 No. 6 is the most remarkable: this quintet with two cellos La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid "depicts" a cross-section of the night in Madrid, from the sound of the Ave Maria on the church bells of the city until the passage of the soldiers' patrol announcing the curfew. In five movements-episodes, the different souls of the night of Madrid are recalled: the religious and devout (Ave Maria delle Parrocchie, Rosario) that carefree and goliardic (Minuetto dei ciechi, Passa Calle), and the military one (Ave Maria del Quartiere, Ritirata). In this quintet each musical resource is employed, in an extremely original way. As Boccherini himself notes in the score, the faithful representation from real life is so central in this work, that "everything that does not conform to the rules of composition, must be justified by the truth of the represented thing". - Played by Luigi Puxeddu and I Virtuosi della Rotonda, with Federico Guglielmo, Alessia Pazzaglia, Davide Zaltron and Riccardo Giovine.

The name Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) does not immediately bring to mind such modest works as violin duos, but alongside his large output of trios, quartets and quintets for stringed instruments, Boccherini's oeuvre also features two sets of six pieces for two violins. One set was composed at the beginning of his compositional career, in 1761 - that is, before his 20th birthday - and published some years later, in 1768, in Paris by Louis-Balthazar de La Chevardiere, under the title Six duos pour deux violons, with the opus number 5. Later, the same collection is described by the composer as his Opus 3. And then there is a second, much later collection with arrangements for two violins of other compositions of his originally written for three or five stringed instruments. The latter set was published by Ignace Pleyel in Paris in 1799 - just a few years before his death - under the similar title Six duos pour deux violons, with opus number 46. Unsurprisingly, the two sets are very different in character. Boccherini's Duets Op. 3 all consist of three movements. Five of them begin with a fast movement, in a major key. Then follows a slow movement in a different key, sometimes major, sometimes minor. And, finally, there is most often a minuet, in a characteristic 3/4 time, with a tempo between slow and fast. The first duet in the set, however, follows a different model: it starts with a slow movement, a fast movement follows and finally there is a light-hearted 'Presto'. We know the year of composition of the Duets Op. 3, and we know for sure that they are works by Boccherini. Regarding the Violin Duets Op. 46, however, there are still some question marks. We know that they were published in 1799 by the Parisian publisher Ignace Pleyel, but they are missing from the catalogue compiled by Boccherini himself of his own works. That does not necessarily mean that they are not from his hand. Boccherini regularly arranged his own compositions for other instrumental combinations, and these are systematically missing from his catalogue. And these arrangements are not simply reductions of the original compositions for two violins: in many cases they are thorough re-compositions based on the original material. This last aspect in particular contributes to the assumption that the arranger was Boccherini himself: arrangers who are not the original composer usually leave the structure of the composition intact in their arrangements. In the case of Boccherini's Duets Op. 46, as it were, new compositions were created. Boccherini's violin duets are perhaps not among his best-known compositions. For the Duets Op. 3 one has to go back quite far into the past to find a recording on LP or CD. The Duets Op. 46 have never been recorded on LP or CD. It's high time, then, for a CD featuring these charming and melodious works. Other information: - Recorded October, November & December 2021, Velp, Netherlands - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Rudolf Rasch and profiles of the violinists - The recording of the Opus 3 Duets is based on the critical edition of these works in Volume 29 of the series Luigi Boccherini: Opera Omnia, published in 2007 by Ut Orpheus Edizioni (Bologna) - The Dutch liner notes are available for download at www. Brilliantclassics. com - A much-underrated composer, Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) 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, charming and highly melodious, yet may be passionate and dramatic as well. - This new recording presents the complete Duets for two violins by Boccherini. Originally conceived as study material, these works far transcend this aim, as they are challenging, skillfully written compositions, brimming with good tunes and blazing vitality. - Played by Igor Ruhadze and Daria Gorban, specialized in Baroque repertoire, having recorded the complete works by Locatelli and works by Nardini. Rugadze's recording of the Boccherini violin sonatas on Brilliant Classics received 5 stars in the French Diapason.

This is a winner of a disc, the first of a projected series covering all 12 of Boccherini’s cello concertos, beautifully performed on modern instruments but with concern for period practice and superbly recorded. One minor snag is a confusion over numbering. Naxos calls its first selection of works Nos. 1-4, whereas in Gramophone and on the Gramophone Database the new numbering above is used. What many collectors will be concerned about is the Boccherini Cello Concerto beloved of generations in Grutzmacher’s corrupt edition.

When many years ago I questioned Jacqueline du Pre about choosing it for her recording, she promptly justified herself, saying, ‘But the slow movement is so lovely.’ She was quite right, as her classic recording makes clear (EMI, 10/67), but that movement was transferred from another work, in fact No. 7 in G, one of the four works here. Tim Hugh’s dedicated account of this lovely G minor movement is a high spot of this issue, with rapt, hushed playing not just from the soloist but also from the excellent Scottish Chamber Orchestra under Anthony Halstead. It develops into a long cadenza, a sustained meditation lasting almost two minutes out of the six-and-a-half, and I should have liked to have it identified in the notes.

As it is, Hugh offers substantial cadenzas not just in the first movements of each work, but in slow movements and finales too, though none is as extended as the one in the G minor slow movement. Halstead, as a period specialist and a horn virtuoso as well as a conductor, matches his soloist in the dedication of these performances, clarifying textures (not least in the ripe horn parts, presumably played on natural instruments) and encouraging Hugh to choose speeds on the fast side, with easily flowing slow movements and outer movements which test the soloist’s virtuosity to the very limit, without sounding breathless.

The formula in all four works is similar, even though each has its individual delights, with strong, foursquare first movements, slow movements that sound rather Handelian and galloping finales in triple time. Not just for those who know only the old Grutzmacher concerto, all this will be a delightful discovery. And remember, there are two more issues to come.

-- Edward Greenfield, Gramophone [10/1999]

There's always room in the catalog for enterprising budget-priced performances like these. The string quartets of Luigi Boccherini, though perhaps not as historically significant as his quintets, are engaging and under-valued pieces. If you want to try out a representative selection at minimal cost, you'll find this Naxos disc nicely fits the bill. The Borciani Quartet was formed in 1984 and named after the group's teacher, Paolo Borciani, who was the founding leader of Quartetto Italiano. In these performances the Borcianis successfully emulate the famous clarity and refinement of their models, providing assured, imaginative readings of the first two quartets from Boccherini's Op. 32 set--the best known and most frequently performed of the Boccherini quartets. All six were recorded on period instruments by the Esterházy Quartet for Teldec in 1976. That fine survey had the advantage of completeness, and the lighter instrumental textures brought pleasing clarity and immediacy. However, the Borcianis' well-prepared and naturally spontaneous accounts are equally well played, and the Naxos sound is certainly superior. Better still is the Borciani Quartet's splendid reading of the more substantial A major work, a polished and cultured performance made more compelling by energetically pointed rhythms and marked dynamic contrasts, which listeners will best appreciate during the lyrically expressive slow movement. An excellent disc all round. --Michael Jameson, ClassicsToday.com