LUIGI BOCCHERINI (1753-1805)
String Trios op. 34
(Arenas de San Pedro, 1781)

CD I

Trio op. 34/5 (G105) in C major
01 Largo
02 Allegro vivo
03 Andante lento con variazioni

Trio op. 34/2 (G102) in G major
04 Allegretto comodo assai
05 Minuetto – Trio
06 Adagio
07 Rondeau. Allegro ma non presto

Trio op. 34/4 (G104) in D major
08 Allegretto moderato assai
09 Grave – Allegro – Grave
10 Tempo di Minuetto

CD II

Trio op. 34/3 (G103) in E flat major
01 Allegro vivo ma non presto
02 Largo non tanto
03 Minuetto – Trio
04 Rondeau. Allegretto comodo

Trio op. 34/1 (G101) in F major
05 Andante lento
06 Allegro con brio
07 Minuetto – Trio

Trio op. 34/6 (G106) in E major
08 Allegro giusto
09 Larghetto
10 Minuetto con moto – Trio
11 Rondeau. Andante un poco lento

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About this album

Different stages in the life of Luigi Boccherini are clearly mapped out in the music he wrote. None more so than the 6 String Trios, Op 34 written around 1781 – at the time of the Stabat mater – during the nine-year period when the composer forsook the precariousness of life within the hustle and bustle of Madrid for the tranquillity of Arenas de San Pedro, nearer Ávila, as he followed his patron, the Infante Luis de Borbón, in the latter’s banishment from the Spanish court. In conditions of comfort for himself and his young family Boccherini prospered on the artistic level as well: some 80 compositions emerged, many for the regular chamber music performances called for by the Enlightened prince, the maecenas also for painters such as Goya, Flipart and Paret.

In a pair of its earlier recordings, newly remastered and now appearing on Glossa, La Ritirata demonstrates complete sympathy with the Classical era intentions of a composer in full maturity: no surprise when the three players are of the calibre of violinists Hiro Kurosaki and Lina Tur Bonet and cellist Josetxu Obregón. In this string trio configuration, Boccherini demanded great technical skill from the musicians, notably from the cello part (he was a virtuoso on the instrument himself) and requiring it to take on much of the role assumed by the viola in a quartet. Pervading all is the composer’s melodic invention, his preference for the galant style and the harmonic boldness which together assured his popularity throughout Europe at the time.