Steven Isserlis (cello), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Hyperion · CDA68444 · 76 minutes
Boccherini gets stuck with a reputation as the composer who wrote “that minuet” and not much else, which is a shame because his slow movements can be genuinely otherworldly — all hushed, floating lines that justify the “Music of the Angels” tag. Isserlis has always had a soft spot for the unfairly overlooked corners of the cello repertoire, and here he sounds completely at home, spinning those long melodies with a warmth that never tips into sentimentality. The Quintet in D minor is the real draw, with the players listening so closely to each other that it feels less like a performance and more like eavesdropping on a really good conversation.
Awards:
- Presto Recording of the Week — 1st November 2024
- Sunday Times — 20 Best Classical Albums of 2024
“in the String Quintet in D minor G280 – the album’s centrepiece – Isserlis and friends entwine Boccherini’s lyrical strands into a felicitous musical conversation: balanced, measured and fully…”
— BBC Music Magazine, January 2025,5 out of 5 stars(Performance) /4 out of 5 stars(Recording)
Bruno Cocset (cello)Les Basses Réunies
Alpha · ALPHA084 · 61 minutes
Boccherini gets typecast as the pleasant, powdered-wig guy who wrote that one minuet, but hand him to a cellist who actually digs into the instrument’s guts and you get something much stranger and more physical. Bruno Cocset plays on a cello built specifically to chase the growl and bite Boccherini himself would have had at his disposal, and you can hear it in every phrase — this isn’t polite chamber music, it’s full of odd colors and sudden intensity. Les Basses Réunies match him stride for stride, so the whole thing feels less like a history lesson and more like eavesdropping on a composer having genuine fun with his own instrument.
Awards:
- Gramophone Magazine — March 2006 — Editor’s Choice
“As Bruno Cocset explains in his note, in order to do the music justice he uses a specially constructed cello by Charles Riché. The results live up to the billing. The instrument itself, with…”
— Gramophone Magazine, March 2006
Daniel Müller-Schott (cello), Irina Zahharenkova (piano), Anderson Fiorelli
Orfeo · C240131 · 79 minutes
There’s something disarming about the way this program treats memory not as nostalgia but as material to be turned over and examined from every angle. Müller-Schott plays with a kind of unforced tenderness here, and Zahharenkova matches him step for step, so the whole thing feels less like a concept album and more like eavesdropping on someone’s private recollections. At 79 minutes it’s a generous sit, but the playfulness the BBC critics picked up on keeps it light on its feet throughout.
Awards:
- Gramophone Magazine — August 2026 — Editor’s Choice
“Childhood revisited with flair, playfulness and abiding affection.”
— BBC Music Magazine, August 2026,4 out of 5 stars
