Luigi Boccherini

Luigi Boccherini was still a young child when he began to study the cello with his father. After further studies in Rome, he made his professional debut at the age of 13 and soon earned a reputation as a teenage virtuoso. A series of visits to Vienna allowed him to complete his musical studies and perfect his technique. He was 21 when he was appointed principal cellist in the Palatine Chapel in his native Lucca, an appointment that did nothing to discourage him from continuing to tour Europe performing quartets and duets, the latter in association with the violinist Filippo Manfredi, with whom he gave a series of brilliant recitals at the Concert Spirituel in Paris. Here, Boccherini was noticed by the Spanish ambassador, who invited the cellist to the Spanish court, in whose service he spent the remainder of his life. After the brilliance of his early career, his final years were overshadowed by a number of family bereavements and, in spite of his eminent patrons, he died in poverty and obscurity. His most popular work is his String Quintet in E Major G275, a piece whose highly sprung rhythms and seductively attractive melodies give an excellent idea of the vitality of his music.