Boccherini: String Quintets, Minuet in A

1	String Quintet for 2 viol
2	String Quintet for 2 viol
3	String Quintet for 2 viol
4	String Quintet for 2 viol
5	String Quintet for 2 viol
6	String Quintet for 2 viol
7	String Quintet for 2 viol
8	String Quintet for 2 viol
9	String Quintet for 2 viol
10	String Quintet for 2 viol
11	String Quintet for 2 viol
12	String Quintet for 2 viol
13	Minuet in A major, arrang
Boccherini: String Quintets, Minuet in A
1.	String Quintets (6), Op. 25, No. 6 in A minor, G 300 20:26
	Composed by Luigi Boccherini
	Performed by Europa Galante
2.	String Quintets (6), Op. 25, No. 4 in C major, G 298 19:50
	Composed by Luigi Boccherini
	Performed by Europa Galante
3.	String Quintets (6), Op. 25, No. 1 in D minor, G 295 15:52
	Composed by Luigi Boccherini
	Performed by Europa Galante
4.	Minuet for strings (String Quintet in E major, Op.11/5, G. 275) 3:40
	Composed by Luigi Boccherini
	Performed by Europa Galante

Barnes & Noble

To those who scoff at Luigi Boccherini, his music has always seemed a side note in the Haydn-Mozart-Beethoven axis of the Enlightenment era. But here is a recording that should make such skeptics think twice. Boccherini wrote well over 100 string quintets (most in the two-cello format, a few with an added viola), and this disc offers a small but savory sample of the sizable repertoire: three of the Quintets Op. 25, with the familiar Minuet in A from the Quintet Op. 11, No. 5 as an add-on. Delightful discoveries abound: the rustic, col legno cello in the opening movement of the A Minor, or the Quintet's frenetic, obsessive finale; the in medias res start to the first movement of the C Major, returning as a wittily varied Allegro finale; or the rhythmic play of the Minuet in the dark D Minor Quintet. Period instrument ensemble Europa Galante gives spirited, jovial readings of these surprisingly imaginative works. The sound is crisp and bright. Heartily recommended -- to Boccherini friends and foes alike. EJ Johnson

Gramophone

These three quintets serve as a persuasive introduction to [Boccherini's] music, full of melodic invention, harmony that knows when and for how long to remain static or flowing, or ready to spring surprises, great variety of form (but rarely by the sonata-form 'book'), and a kaleidoscope of sound that could have been imagined only by an accomplished and venturesome virtuoso... In short, this marvelous disc is an absolute must. John Duarte