Luigi Boccherini

Concerto for Cello in B flat, G. 482

Italian composer and cellist Ridolfo Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) wrote during the Classical era and predominantly in the galante style. Over his career, he composed twelve concertos for the cello, and the Concerto for Cello in B-flat, G. 482 (the ninth), written sometime between the late 1760s and the early 1770s, is certainly the best known. The popularity of the work can be partly attributed also to the German cellist Friedrich W. Grützmacher (1832-1903), who arranged the work around 1895 more in the style of a Romantic virtuoso concerto. He made significant edits to Boccherini's original version, including extensive cuts in the outer movements, writing his own cadenzas, and replacing the second movement (Andante grazioso) with the second movement from Boccherini's seventh cello concerto (Adagio; non troppo). Both the Grützmacher arrangement and the original, which has grown in popularity over more recent decades, are available from the publisher. Instrumentation: 0.2.0.0: 2.0.0.0: Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set): Solo Cello.