Sheet Music: Minuet

TitleMinuet
from String Quintet in E major
Opus numberOp. 11/5, G.275
ComposerLuigi Boccherini (1743–1805)
InstrumentationFlute solo
KeyA major
RangeC#4–A6
Time signature3/4
Tempo90 BPM
Performance time2:55
Difficulty levelintermediate
Download printable scorePDF Sheet Music (70 kB) (preview)
Download audio tracksMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (1.4 MB)
Date added2009-04-30
Last updated2009-04-30
Download popularity index☆☆☆☆☆ 6.9 (very popular)
Categories
Classical, Minuets, Rococo, Show-off pieces

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Thursday 30 April 2009

Tune of the Day: Boccherini's Minuet

from String Quintet in E major, G.275

The greatest hit of Luigi Boccherini, this Minuet in A major is taken from his Quintet in E major for two violins, viola, and two cellos. It is quintessential Rococo, a delightful confection that has become known to an enormous audience in its various arrangements as the embodiment of the final years of the Ancien Régime in Europe.

Boccherini was primarily a composer of chamber music, although his symphonies and concerti have considerable merit. He produced more than 100 quintets, more than 100 quartets, more than 50 trios, and more than 50 chamber works in other forms.

Perhaps because his most significant work consists of chamber music and symphonies, Boccherini has often been compared to Joseph Haydn, usually to his disadvantage, like Vivaldi in relation to Johann Sebastian Bach.