Ross Pople: London Festival Orchestra - Boccherini: Four Symphonies

The symphonies of Boccherini are at once original, unfailingly melodic, sophisticated and intriguingly exotic, a legacy owed in part to his living the second half of his life in Spain, removed from the more obvious eighteenth-century centres of musical development.This recording is of the three surviving Op 37 symphonies and the single symphony from the Op 42 set (which, bizarrely, includes string quartets, quintets and an octet). This latter symphony is believed to be here receiving its first recording. All four works fundamentally follow the standard European symphonic practice of the time, yet there is often an unusual richness to Boccherini's string writing and, for the listener, delights are guaranteed at every turn.