Boccherini / String Quartet in G major, Op. 44/4, G. 223 “La Tiranna“

Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) String Quartet in G major, Op. 44/4, G. 223 “La Tiranna“ (1792) 00:00 - Presto (Tirana) 06:52 - Tempo di Minuetto Performed by Ensemble 415. Recorded by Harmonia Mundi in 1990. “The ’Quartettino’ in G major, christened ’La Tiranna’ by the composer himself, because of its first movement, a ’tirana’, i.e. a dance that was much in vogue in Madrid at the end of the century. Boccherini raises this light, ostinato rhythmic dance to the level of a masterpiece by means of the perfection of his adaptation for the string quartet form, rounding it off with a magnificent minuet in which the violin and viola, playing in unison throughout, produce a sense of extreme limpidity. ’La Tiranna’, a musical portrait of María del Rosario Fernández, la Tirana, who was also painted by Goya? Probably not; neither a dancer nor a singer, this actress’s nickname was due to her husband, also an actor, who excelled in the roles of ’tyrants’.“ - Emilio Moreno (trans. James Wootton) Painting: Offering to Flora, Juan van der Hamen