This is mentioned on the CotW board but just in case, it’s Boccherini this week, and it doesn't seem to be a repeat.
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The last few COTWs have been wonderful for the likes of me. This one is for Classical era freaks...
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According to Anner Bylsma he was perhaps " the best cellist ever." By use of the thumb position he extended the cello's range to the B flat above the treble stave. Also making great use of double, triple & quadruple stopping. A master of ornamentation, but never to excess. " Yet within this stupendous virtuosity there is a beautiful calmness & rationality." Once established in Spain he acquired a Stradivari cello, forming a quintet with others, all of whom also performed on 'Strads.' His string quintets almost always include two cellos with them frequently soaring well above the other instruments. There is a unique richness to the texture of the music with such a combination.
It is not great music, I would be the first to admit it & there is much that is boring. But to me there is his great contribution to the cello repertoire & more personally, an ability to provide in so much of his music, especially the slow movements, a wistfulness & sense of melancholy which touches something within me.Comment
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