Luigi Rodolfo Boccherini |

Luigi boccherini

In harmony the rival of gentle Sacchini, Singer of feeling, divine Boccherini! Fayol

The musical heritage of the Italian cellist and composer L. Boccherini almost entirely consists of instrumental compositions. In the “age of opera”, as the 30th century is often called, he created only a few musical stage works. A virtuoso performer is attracted to musical instruments and instrumental ensembles. Peru composer owns about 400 symphonies; various orchestral works; numerous violin and cello sonatas; violin, flute and cello concertos; about XNUMX ensemble compositions (string quartets, quintets, sextets, octets).

Boccherini received his primary musical education under the guidance of his father, double bassist Leopold Boccherini, and D. Vannuccini. Already at the age of 12, the young musician embarked on the path of professional performance: starting with a two-year service in the chapels of Lucca, he continued his performing activities as a cello soloist in Rome, and then again in the chapel of his native city (since 1761). Here Boccherini soon organizes a string quartet, which includes the most famous virtuosos and composers of that time (P. Nardini, F. Manfredi, G. Cambini) and for which they have been creating many works in the quartet genre for five years (1762-67). 1768 Boccherini meets in Paris, where his performances are held in triumph and the composer’s talent as a musician receives European recognition. But soon (from 1769) he moved to Madrid, where until the end of his days he served as a court composer, and also received a highly paid position in the music chapel of Emperor Wilhelm Frederick II, a great connoisseur of music. Gradually performing activity recedes into the background, freeing up time for intensive composing work.

Boccherini’s music is brightly emotional, just like its author himself. The French violinist P. Rode recalled: “when someone’s performance of Boccherini’s music did not meet either Boccherini’s intention or taste, the composer could no longer restrain himself; he would get excited, stomp his feet, and somehow, losing patience, he ran away as fast as he could, shouting that his offspring was being tormented.

Over the past 2 centuries, the creations of the Italian master have not lost their freshness and immediacy of influence. Solo and ensemble pieces by Boccherini pose high technical challenges for the performer, provide an opportunity to reveal the rich expressive and virtuoso possibilities of the instrument. That is why modern performers willingly turn to the work of the Italian composer.

Boccherini’s style is not only temperament, melody, grace, in which we recognize the signs of Italian musical culture. He absorbed the features of the sentimental, sensitive language of the French comic opera (P. Monsigny, A. Gretry), and the brightly expressive art of German musicians of the middle of the century: composers from Mannheim (Ja Stamitz, F. Richter), as well as I. Schobert and the famous son Johann Sebastian Bach – Philipp Emanuel Bach. The composer also experienced the influence of the largest opera composer of the 2th century. – the reformer of the opera K. Gluck: it is no coincidence that one of Boccherini’s symphonies includes the well-known theme of the dance of the furies from Act 1805 of Gluck’s opera Orpheus and Eurydice. Boccherini was one of the pioneers of the string quintet genre and the first whose quintets gained European recognition. They were highly valued by W. A. ​​Mozart and L. Beethoven, the creators of brilliant works in the quintet genre. Both during his lifetime and after his death, Boccherini remained among the most revered musicians. And his highest performing art left an indelible mark on the memory of his contemporaries and descendants. An obituary in a Leipzig newspaper (XNUMX) reported that he was an excellent cellist who delighted with his playing this instrument due to the incomparable quality of sound and touching expressiveness in playing.

S. Rytsarev

Luigi Boccherini is one of the outstanding composers and performers of the Classical era. As a composer, he competed with Haydn and Mozart, creating many symphonies and chamber ensembles, distinguished by clarity, transparency of style, architectonic completeness of forms, elegance and graceful tenderness of images. Many of his contemporaries considered him the heir to the Rococo style, “feminine Haydn”, whose work is dominated by pleasant, gallant features. E. Buchan, without reservation, refers him to the classicists: “The fiery and dreamy Boccherini, with his works of the 70s, becomes in the very first ranks of the stormy innovators of that era, his bold harmony anticipates the sounds of the future.”

Buchan is more correct in this assessment than others. “Fiery and dreamy” – how can one better characterize the poles of Boccherini’s music? In it, the grace and pastorality of Rococo merged with Gluck’s drama and lyricism, vividly reminiscent of Mozart. For the XNUMXth century, Boccherini was an artist who paved the way for the future; his work amazed contemporaries with the boldness of instrumentation, the novelty of the harmonic language, the classicist refinement and clarity of forms.

Even more important is Boccherini in the history of cello art. An outstanding performer, the creator of classical cello technique, he developed and gave a harmonious system of playing on the stake, thereby expanding the boundaries of the cello neck; developed a light, graceful, “pearl” texture of figurative movements, enriching the resources of finger fluency of the left hand and, to no lesser extent, the technique of the bow.

Boccherini’s life was not successful. Fate prepared for him the fate of an exile, an existence full of humiliation, poverty, constant struggle for a piece of bread. He experienced the brunt of the aristocratic “patronage” that deeply wounded his proud and sensitive soul at every step, and lived for many years in hopeless need. One can only wonder how, with all that fell to his lot, he managed to maintain the inexhaustible cheerfulness and optimism that is so clearly felt in his music.

The birthplace of Luigi Boccherini is the ancient Tuscan city of Lucca. Small in size, this city was by no means like a remote province. Lucca has lived an intense musical and social life. Nearby there were healing waters famous throughout Italy, and the famous temple holidays in the churches of Santa Croce and San Martino attracted annually many pilgrims who flocked from all over the country. Outstanding Italian singers and instrumentalists performed in churches during the holidays. Lucca had an excellent city orchestra; there was a theater and an excellent chapel, which the archbishop maintained, there were three seminaries with music faculties in each. In one of them Boccherini studied.

He was born on February 19, 1743 in a musical family. His father Leopold Boccherini, a double bass player, played for many years in the city orchestra; older brother Giovanni-Anton-Gaston sang, played the violin, was a dancer, and later a librettist. On his libretto, Haydn wrote the oratorio “The Return of Tobias”.

Luigi’s musical abilities showed up early. The boy sang in the church choir and at the same time his father taught him the first cello skills. Education continued in one of the seminaries with an excellent teacher, cellist and bandmaster Abbot Vanucci. As a result of classes with the abbot, Boccherini began to speak in public from the age of twelve. These performances brought Boccherini fame among urban music lovers. After graduating from the music faculty of the seminary in 1757, Boccherini went to Rome in order to improve his game. In the middle of the XVIII century, Rome enjoyed the glory of one of the musical capitals of the world. He shone with magnificent orchestras (or, as they were then called, instrumental chapels); there were theaters and many musical salons competing with each other. In Rome, one could hear the playing of Tartini, Punyani, Somis, who made up the world fame of Italian violin art. The young cellist plunges headlong into the vibrant musical life of the capital.

With whom he perfected himself in Rome, it is not known. Most likely, “from oneself”, absorbing musical impressions, instinctively selecting the new and discarding the outdated, conservative. The violin culture of Italy could also have influenced him, the experience of which he undoubtedly transferred to the sphere of cello. Soon, Boccherini began to be noticed, and he attracted attention to himself not only by playing, but also by compositions that aroused universal enthusiasm. In the early 80s, he published his first works and made his first concert tours, visiting Vienna twice.

In 1761 he returned to his native city. Lucca greeted him with delight: “We didn’t know what to be more surprised at – the marvelous performance of the virtuoso or the new and piquant texture of his works.”

In Lucca, Boccherini was first accepted into the theater orchestra, but in 1767 he moved to the chapel of the Lucca Republic. In Lucca, he met the violinist Filippo Manfredi, who soon became his close friend. Boccherini became infinitely attached to Manfredi.

However, gradually Lucca begins to weigh Boccherini. First, despite its relative activity, the musical life in it, especially after Rome, seems to him provincial. In addition, overwhelmed by the thirst for fame, he dreams of a wide concert activity. Finally, the service in the chapel gave him a very modest material reward. All this led to the fact that at the beginning of 1767, Boccherini, together with Manfredi, left Lucca. Their concerts were held in the cities of Northern Italy – in Turin, Piedmont, Lombardy, then in the south of France. Biographer Boccherini Pico writes that everywhere they were met with admiration and enthusiasm.

According to Pico, during his stay in Lucca (in 1762-1767), Boccherini was generally very active creatively, he was so busy performing that he created only 6 trios. Apparently, it was at this time that Boccherini and Manfredi met with the famous violinist Pietro Nardini and violist Cambini. For about six months they worked together as a quartet. Subsequently, in 1795, Cambini wrote: “In my youth I lived six happy months in such occupations and in such pleasure. Three great masters – Manfredi, the most excellent violinist in all Italy in terms of orchestral and quartet playing, Nardini, so famous for the perfection of his playing as a virtuoso, and Boccherini, whose merits are well known, did me the honor of accepting me as a violist.

In the middle of the XNUMXth century, quartet performance was just beginning to develop – it was a new genre that was emerging at that time, and the quartet of Nardini, Manfredi, Cambini, Boccherini was one of the earliest professional ensembles in the world known to us.

At the end of 1767 or at the beginning of 1768 the friends arrived in Paris. The first performance of both artists in Paris took place in the salon of Baron Ernest von Bagge. It was one of the most remarkable music salons in Paris. It was frequently debuted by visiting artists before being admitted to the Concert Spiritucl. The whole color of musical Paris gathered here, Gossec, Gavignier, Capron, the cellist Duport (senior) and many others often visited. The skill of young musicians was appreciated. Paris spoke about Manfredi and Boccherini. The concert in the Bagge salon opened the way for them to the Concert Spirituel. The performance in the famous hall took place on March 20, 1768, and immediately the Parisian music publishers Lachevardier and Besnier offered Boccherini to print his works.

However, the performance of Boccherini and Manfredi met with criticism. Michel Brenet’s book Concerts in France under the Ancien Régime quotes the following comments: “Manfredi, the first violinist, did not have the success he had hoped for. His music was found to be smooth, his playing broad and pleasant, but his playing impure and erratic. The cello playing of Mr. Boccarini (sic!) evoked equally moderate applause, his sounds seemed too harsh for the ears, and the chords were very little harmonious.

Reviews are indicative. The audience of the Concert Spirituel, for the most part, was still dominated by the old principles of “gallant” art, and Boccherini’s playing really could seem (and seemed!) to her too harsh, disharmonious. It is hard to believe now that “gentle Gavinier” sounded unusually sharp and harsh then, but it is a fact. Boccherini, obviously, found admirers in that circle of listeners who, in a few years, would react with enthusiasm and understanding to Gluck’s operatic reform, but people brought up on the Rococo aesthetics, in all likelihood, remained indifferent to him; for them it turned out to be too dramatic and “rough”. Who knows if this was the reason why Boccherini and Manfredi did not stay in Paris? At the end of 1768, taking advantage of the offer of the Spanish ambassador to enter the service of the Infante of Spain, the future King Charles IV, they went to Madrid.

Spain in the second half of the XNUMXth century was a country of Catholic fanaticism and feudal reaction. This was the era of Goya, so brilliantly described by L. Feuchtwanger in his novel about the Spanish artist. Boccherini and Manfredi arrived here, at the court of Charles III, who with hatred persecuted everything that to some extent went against Catholicism and clericalism.

In Spain, they were met unfriendly. Charles III and the Infante Prince of Asturias treated them more than coldly. In addition, local musicians were by no means happy about their arrival. The first court violinist Gaetano Brunetti, fearing competition, began to weave an intrigue around Boccherini. Suspicious and limited, Charles III willingly believed Brunetti, and Boccherini failed to win a place for himself at the court. He was saved by the support of Manfredi, who received the place of the first violinist in the chapel of Charles III’s brother Don Louis. Don Louis was a comparatively liberal man. “He supported many artists and artists who were not accepted at the royal court. For example, a contemporary of Boccherini, the famous Goya, who achieved the title of court painter only in 1799, for a long time found patronage from the infante. Don Lui was an amateur cellist, and, apparently, used the guidance of Boccherini.

Manfredi ensured that Boccherini was also invited to the chapel of Don Louis. Here, as a chamber music composer and virtuoso, the composer worked from 1769 to 1785. Communication with this noble patron is the only joy in the life of Boccherini. Twice a week he had the opportunity to listen to the performance of his works in the villa “Arena”, which belonged to Don Louis. Here Boccherini met his future wife, the daughter of an Aragonese captain. The wedding took place on June 25, 1776.

After the marriage, the financial situation of Boccherini became even more difficult. Children were born. To help the composer, Don Louis tried to petition the Spanish court for him. However, his attempts were in vain. An eloquent description of the outrageous scene in relation to Boccherini was left by the French violinist Alexander Boucher, in whose presence it played out. One day, says Boucher, Charles IV’s uncle, Don Louis, brought Boccherini to his nephew, the then Prince of Asturias, to introduce the composer’s new quintets. The notes were already open on the music stands. Karl took the bow, he always played the part of the first violin. In one place of the quintet, two notes were repeated for a long time and monotonously: to, si, to, si. Immersed in his part, the king played them without listening to the rest of the voices. Finally, he got tired of repeating them, and, angry, he stopped.

– It’s disgusting! Loafer, any schoolboy would do better: do, si, do, si!

“Sire,” answered Boccherini calmly, “if your majesty would deign to incline your ear to what the second violin and viola are playing, to the pizzicato that the cello plays at the very time when the first violin monotonously repeats its notes, then these notes will immediately lose their monotony as soon as other instruments, having entered, will take part in the interview.

— Bye, bye, bye, bye – and this is in the course of half an hour! Bye, bye, bye, bye, interesting conversation! The music of a schoolboy, a bad schoolboy!

“Sire,” Boccherini boiled over, “before judging like that, you must at least understand music, ignoramus!”

Jumping up in anger, Karl grabbed Boccherini and dragged him to the window.

“Ah, sir, fear God!” cried the Princess of Asturias. At these words, the prince turned half a turn, which the frightened Boccherini took advantage of to hide in the next room.

“This scene,” adds Pico, “no doubt, presented somewhat caricatured, but basically true, finally deprived Boccherini of royal favor. The new king of Spain, heir to Charles III, could never forget the insult inflicted on the Prince of Asturias … and did not want to see the composer or perform his music. Even Boccherini’s name was not to be spoken in the palace. When anyone dared to remind the king of the musician, he invariably interrupted the questioner:

— Who else mentions Boccherini? Boccherini is dead, let everyone remember this well and never talk about him again!

Burdened with a family (wife and five children), Boccherini eked out a miserable existence. He became especially ill after the death of Don Louis in 1785. He was supported only by some music lovers, in whose houses he conducted chamber music. Although his writings were popular and published by the largest publishing houses in the world, this did not make Boccherini’s life easier. Publishers robbed him mercilessly. In one of the letters, the composer complains that he receives absolutely insignificant amounts and that his copyrights are being ignored. In another letter, he exclaims bitterly: “Perhaps I am already dead?”

Unrecognized in Spain, he addresses through the Prussian envoy to King Frederick William II and dedicates one of his works to him. Highly appreciating Boccherini’s music, Friedrich Wilhelm appointed him court composer. All subsequent works, from 1786 to 1797, Boccherini writes for the Prussian court. However, in the service of the King of Prussia, Boccherini still lives in Spain. True, the opinions of biographers differ on this issue, Pico and Schletterer argue that, having arrived in Spain in 1769, Boccherini never left its borders, with the exception of a trip to Avignon, where in 1779 he attended the wedding of a niece who married a violinist Fisher. L. Ginzburg has a different opinion. Referring to Boccherini’s letter to the Prussian diplomat Marquis Lucchesini (June 30, 1787), sent from Breslau, Ginzburg draws the logical conclusion that in 1787 the composer was in Germany. Boccherini’s stay here could last as long as possible from 1786 to 1788, moreover, he may also have visited Vienna, where in July 1787 the wedding of his sister Maria Esther, who married choreographer Honorato Vigano, took place. The fact of Boccherini’s departure to Germany, with reference to the same letter from Breslau, is also confirmed by Julius Behi in the book From Boccherini to Casals.

In the 80s, Boccherini was already a seriously ill person. In the mentioned letter from Breslau, he wrote: “… I found myself imprisoned in my room because of the frequently repeated hemoptysis, and even more so because of a severe swelling of the legs, accompanied by an almost complete loss of my strength.”

The disease, undermining strength, deprived Boccherini of the opportunity to continue performing activities. In the 80s he leaves the cello. From now on, composing music becomes the only source of existence, and after all, pennies are paid for the publication of works.

In the late 80s, Boccherini returned to Spain. The situation he finds himself in is absolutely unbearable. The revolution that broke out in France causes an incredible reaction in Spain and police revelry. To top it off, the Inquisition is rampant. The provocative policy towards France eventually leads in 1793-1796 to the Franco-Spanish war, which ended in the defeat of Spain. Music in these conditions is not held in high esteem. Boccherini becomes especially hard when the Prussian king Frederick II dies – his only support. Payment for the post of chamber musician of the Prussian court was, in essence, the main income of the family.

Soon after the death of Frederick II, fate dealt Boccherini another series of cruel blows: within a short time, his wife and two adult daughters die. Boccherini remarried, but the second wife died suddenly from a stroke. The difficult experiences of the 90s affect the general state of his spirit – he withdraws into himself, goes into religion. In this state, full of spiritual depression, he is grateful for every sign of attention. In addition, poverty makes him cling to any opportunity to earn money. When the Marquis of Benaventa, a music lover who played the guitar well and highly appreciated Boccherini, asked him to arrange several compositions for him, adding the guitar part, the composer willingly fulfills this order. In 1800, the French ambassador Lucien Bonaparte extended a helping hand to the composer. The grateful Boccherini dedicated several works to him. In 1802, the ambassador left Spain, and Boccherini again fell into need.

Since the beginning of the 90s, trying to escape from the clutches of need, Boccherini has been trying to restore relations with French friends. In 1791, he sent several manuscripts to Paris, but they disappeared. “Perhaps my works were used to load cannons,” wrote Boccherini. In 1799, he dedicates his quintets to “the French Republic and the great nation”, and in a letter “to Citizen Chenier” he expresses his sincere gratitude to “the great French nation, which, more than any other, felt, appreciated and praised my modest writings.” Indeed, the work of Boccherini was highly appreciated in France. Gluck, Gossec, Mugel, Viotti, Baio, Rode, Kreutzer, and the Duport cellists bowed before him.

In 1799, Pierre Rode, the famous violinist, a student of Viotti, arrived in Madrid, and the old Boccherini closely converged with the young brilliant Frenchman. Forgotten by everyone, lonely, sick, Boccherini is extremely happy to communicate with Rode. He willingly instrumented his concerts. Friendship with Rode brightens up the life of Boccherini, and he is very sad when the restless maestro leaves Madrid in 1800. The meeting with Rode further strengthens Boccherini’s longing. He decides to finally leave Spain and move to France. But this wish of his never came true. A great admirer of Boccherini, pianist, singer and composer Sophie Gail visited him in Madrid in 1803. She found the maestro completely ill and in deep need. He lived for many years in one room, divided by mezzanines into two floors. The top floor, essentially an attic, served as the composer’s office. The whole setting was a table, a stool and an old cello. Shocked by what she saw, Sophie Gail paid off all of Boccherini’s debts and raised among friends the funds necessary for him to move to Paris. However, the difficult political situation and the condition of the sick musician no longer allowed him to budge.

May 28, 1805 Boccherini died. Only a few people followed his coffin. In 1927, more than 120 years later, his ashes were transferred to Lucca.

At the time of his creative flowering, Boccherini was one of the greatest cellists of the XNUMXth century. In his playing, the incomparable beauty of tone and full of expressive cello singing were noted. Lavasserre and Bodiot, in The Method of the Paris Conservatory, written on the basis of the violin school of Bayot, Kreutzer and Rode, characterize Boccherini as follows: “If he (Boccherini. – L.R.) makes the cello sing solo, then with such a deep feeling, with such a noble simplicity that artificiality and imitation are forgotten; some wonderful voice is heard, not annoying, but comforting.

Boccherini also played a significant role in the development of musical art as a composer. His creative heritage is huge – over 400 works; among them are 20 symphonies, violin and cello concertos, 95 quartets, 125 quintets (113 of them with two cellos) and many other chamber ensembles. Contemporaries compared Boccherini with Haydn and Mozart. The obituary of the Universal Musical Gazette says: “He was, of course, one of the outstanding instrumental composers of his fatherland Italy … He moved forward, kept pace with the times, and took part in the development of art, which was initiated by his old friend Haydn … Italy puts him on an equal footing with Haydn, and Spain prefers him to the German maestro, who is found there too learned. France highly respects him, and Germany … knows him too little. But where they know him, they know how to enjoy and appreciate, especially the melodic side of his compositions, they love him and highly honor him … His special merit in relation to the instrumental music of Italy, Spain and France was that he was the first to write those who found themselves there the general distribution of quartets, all of whose voices are obligate. At least he was the first to receive universal recognition. He, and soon after him Pleyel, with their early works in the named genre of music made a sensation there even earlier than Haydn, who was still alienated at that time.

Most biographies draw parallels between the music of Boccherini and Haydn. Boccherini knew Haydn well. He met him in Vienna and then corresponded for many years. Boccherini, apparently, greatly honored his great German contemporary. According to Cambini, in the Nardini-Boccherini quartet ensemble, in which he took part, Haydn’s quartets were played. At the same time, of course, the creative personalities of Boccherini and Haydn are quite different. In Boccherini we will never find that characteristic imagery that is so characteristic of Haydn’s music. Boccherini has much more points of contact with Mozart. Elegance, lightness, graceful “chivalry” connect them with individual aspects of creativity with Rococo. They also have much in common in the naive immediacy of the images, in the texture, classically strictly organized and at the same time melodious and melodic.

It is known that Mozart appreciated the music of Boccherini. Stendhal wrote about this. “I don’t know if it was because of the success that the performance of Miserere brought him (Stendhal means Mozart’s listening to Miserere Allegri in the Sistine Chapel. – L.R.), but, apparently, the solemn and melancholic melody of this psalm made a deep impression on the soul of Mozart, who since then has had a clear preference for Handel and for the gentle Boccherini.

How carefully Mozart studied the work of Boccherini can be judged by the fact that the example for him when creating the Fourth Violin Concerto was clearly the violin concerto written in 1768 by the Lucca maestro for Manfredi. When comparing the concertos, it is easy to see how close they are in terms of the general plan, themes, texture features. But it is significant at the same time how much the same theme changes under the brilliant pen of Mozart. Boccherini’s humble experience turns into one of Mozart’s finest concertos; a diamond, with barely marked edges, becomes a sparkling diamond.

Bringing Boccherini closer to Mozart, contemporaries also felt their differences. “What is the difference between Mozart and Boccherini?” wrote J. B. Shaul, “The first leads us between steep cliffs into a coniferous, needle-like forest, only occasionally showered with flowers, and the second descends into smiling lands with flowery valleys, with transparent murmuring streams, covered thick groves.”

Boccherini was very sensitive to the performance of his music. Pico tells how once in Madrid, in 1795, the French violinist Boucher asked Boccherini to play one of his quartets.

“You are already very young, and the performance of my music requires a certain skill and maturity, and a different style of playing than yours.

As Boucher insisted, Boccherini relented, and the quartet players began to play. But, as soon as they played a few measures, the composer stopped them and took the part from Boucher.

“I told you that you are too young to play my music.

Then the embarrassed violinist turned to the maestro:

“Master, I can only ask you to initiate me into the performance of your works; teach me how to play them properly.

“Very willingly, I will be happy to direct such a talent as yours!”

As a composer, Boccherini received unusually early recognition. His compositions began to be performed in Italy and France already in the 60s, that is, when he had just entered the composer’s field. His fame reached Paris even before he appeared there in 1767. Boccherini’s works were played not only on the cello, but also on its old “rival” – the gamba. “The virtuosos on this instrument, much more numerous in the XNUMXth century than the cellists, tested their strength by performing the then new works of the master from Lucca on the gamba.”

Boccherini’s work was very popular at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. The composer is sung in verse. Fayol dedicates a poem to him, comparing him with the gentle Sacchini and calling him divine.

In the 20s and 30s, Pierre Baio often played the Boccherini ensembles in open chamber evenings in Paris. He was considered one of the best performers of the Italian master’s music. Fetis writes that when one day, after Beethoven’s quintet, Fetis heard the Boccherini quintet performed by Bayo, he was delighted with “this simple and naive music” that followed the mighty, sweeping harmonies of the German master. The effect was amazing. The listeners were moved, delighted and bewitched. So great is the power of inspirations emanating from the soul, which have an irresistible effect when they emanate directly from the heart.

The music of Boccherini was very much loved here in Russia. It was first performed in the 70s of the XVIII century. In the 80s, the Boccherini quartets were sold in Moscow in Ivan Schoch’s “Dutch shop” along with the works of Haydn, Mozart, Pleyel, and others. They became very popular among amateurs; they were constantly played in home quartet assemblies. A. O. Smirnova-Rosset quotes the following words of I. V. Vasilchikov, addressed to the famous fabulist I. A. Krylov, a former passionate music lover: E. Boccherini.— L. R.). Do you remember, Ivan Andreevich, how you and I played them until late at night?

Quintets with two cellos were willingly performed back in the 50s in the circle of I. I. Gavrushkevich, who was visited by the young Borodin: “A. P. Borodin listened to Boccherini’s quintets with curiosity and youthful impressionability, with surprise – Onslov, with love – Goebel” . At the same time, in 1860, in a letter to E. Lagroix, V. F. Odoevsky mentions Boccherini, along with Pleyel and Paesiello, already as a forgotten composer: “I remember very well the time when they did not want to listen to anything other than Pleyel , Boccherini, Paesiello and others whose names have long been dead and forgotten ..”

At present, only the B-flat major cello concerto has retained artistic relevance from Boccherini’s heritage. Perhaps there is not a single cellist who would not perform this work.

We often witness the renaissance of many works of early music, reborn for concert life. Who knows? Perhaps the time will come for Boccherini and his ensembles will again sound in the chamber halls, attracting listeners with their naive charm.

L. Raaben