Symphonies

Description

Quoique his detractors may say, Boccherini remains a powerfully original composer. He is criticized, haphazardly, for the absence of developments, the lack of architecture, the lightness of the subject, the constantly sunny and optimistic character. Indeed, it is because he never wished to write anything of the kind, and instead of developments, he offers the listener a continuous flow of ideas, themes, melodies, and turns, all more stunning than the last. Yes, he juxtaposes them, he chains them: Boccherini thus creates magnificent bouquets of music, where each flower is a splendor in itself, and if the arrangement blooms from pure spontaneity, it is precisely because the composer seeks nothing to assert an architectural truth. Written in 1771 (nos. 3 & 8) and 1786 (no. 21), these Symphonies do not deviate from the genre: an overflow of ideas, all more delightful than the last, with particular attention given to the instrumentalists to whom he offers many solos, like this magnificent moment of piccolo in the Third Symphony. But this does not take into account the art of surprise that Boccherini masters as well as his great admirer Haydn, and many passages seem straight out of the imagination of a mischievous little kobold. Finally, one will recognize Boccherini's extraordinary art in the realm of the minuet, true jewels. It is high time that the twenty or so symphonies of this great man finally find their way to concert halls.© Abeille Musique 2010