Divertimenti op. 16 no. 2
Divertimenti op. 16 no.3
Divertimenti op. 16 no.5

The sense of lyricism and of proportion in the works of Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) is often amazing, as was his creativity and productivity. By the time he was 14 he travelled to Vienna to play in an orchestra there, and it was there that he first encountered the music of Joseph Haydn, who was Boccherini's senior by nearly 19 years. In his twenties his fame was growing, he was hailed as a great virtuoso on the cello, and his works were extremely popular and widely published. In 1770, he received an invitation to become chamber composer to the court of the Infante Luis in Madrid. Boccherini stayed there until 1786, the year the Infante died.

Boccherini was an avid and apparently accomplished player of the cello which explains the large production of quintets with two cello parts - the first and most demanding cello part to be played by Boccherini himself. In the years 1773 and 1774 Boccherini wrote several collections of chamber music. The three Divertimentos (II, III and V) on this recording belong to the collection of six Divertimentos op. 16 for two violins, obbligato flute, viola, two cellos, and ripieno (reinforcement) bass (G.461-466).

The present recording marks the beginning of a long-term cooperation between the label Accent and Piccolo Concerto Wien. The Divertimenti op. 12 vol. 2 will follow later this year.