Luigi Boccherini

Casual classical music fans may have heard Boccherini's famous Minuet, but they might not know that Luigi Boccherini was an 18th century cello virtuoso who was celebrated throughout Europe for his performance and compositional skills. The Minuet comes from one of his 100-plus string quintets written to show off his cello technique. He also wrote around 100 string quartets; so if Franz Joseph Haydn is considered the father of the string quartet, Boccherini might be called one of its uncles. His other works include cello concertos and sonatas, a few symphonies, and vocal pieces....