Search - Luigi Boccherini, Richard Lester, Vanbrugh Quartet :: Boccherini: String Quintets 1

Even if you never buy another Boccherini disc, you'll love t

jsa | San Diego, CA United States | 07/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I didn't have a single Boccherini cd in my collection until stumbling across a "Classics Today" review of The Vanbrugh Quartet's other recording of the cello quintets (Hyperion CDA67383, w/guest cellist Richard Lester). "Classics Today" gave that disc a 10/10 & recommended buying this disc as well. I bought both discs & haven't regretted it.



This disc, which is the first of the Vanbrugh's Boccherini recordings w/Richard Lester, opens with the quintet in E major. By the third movement I was nearly humming along with the familiar tunes & saying to myself "I always wondered where that came from." (In fact, this music was used in the Alec Guiness classic 1955 film, "The Ladykillers," when the crooks were pretending to practice chamber music, but were actually plotting an elaborate heist.) While the other quintets aren't nearly as recognizable, they are readily accessible & immensely enjoyable.



I can't say how this disc stacks up to other recordings of the quintets as my review is based on the musical content & excellent sound quality only. This isn't the least expensive way to go w/this music (I purchased at a substantial discount through an Amazon reseller) - Brilliant Classics has a series of Boccherini multi-disc cd's of the Quintets that are very well priced, so you may want to search for those as an alternative even though you won't get the same programs. I can't vouch for the quality of the Brilliant recordings, but I've read positive reviews for a number of others they've released."