Boccherini: Arie accademiche for Soprano and Orchestra

Featuring

GianPaolo Mazzoli
Sandra Pastrana
Guillermo Pastrana
Orchestra dell'Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali Luigi Boccherini di Lucca
Luigi Boccherini

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Composer Biography

Boccherini took up the cello, which was not yet recognized as a solo instrument, and showed early talent as both a player and composer.

Composer Biography

Luigi Boccherini, known for chamber music, came from a theatrical family; his father was a singer and bass player who involved his children in performing arts.

Performer Biography

Cellist Guillermo Pastrana, a national prize winner, is praised for his strong musicality, excellent sound, and extraordinary stage presence.

Composition History

The circumstances and dating of Boccherini's eighteen surviving concert arias are largely unknown, as most of his personal 'master copies' are lost.

Performer Biography

Soprano Sandra Pastrana graduated with honors in voice from the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona and has won several international competitions.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The texts for Boccherini's arias are drawn from the melodramas of Pietro Metastasio, whose intricate plots and emotionally stylized characters dominated 18th-century opera seria.

Composition History

Boccherini's arias were likely not written at the same time or intended as a set, as indicated by varying wind instrument configurations in copies sent to publisher Ignaz Pleyel.