In the Eighteenth Century, most prospective composers underwent broad musical training, if not from schools then from the church or family members. Such serious training ordinarily included instruction on keyboard instruments (harpsichord, clavier, fortepiano, and so on) and the violin. J. S. Bach, Haydn, and Mozart were all skilled at the keyboard and as violinists; the cello did not command significant attention or respect at the time. Bach did write six great solo suites for the instrument (one is actually for the viola pomposa, a cousin of the cello), but the cello's role in the orchestra was usually no more than reinforcing the bass line as part of the basso continuo. When it appeared in chamber music, especially in the typical trios for violin, cello, and piano, it nearly always had the least interesting part. Haydn had only minor interest in the cello as a solo instrument, while Mozart had none; neither learned more than the rudiments of how to play the instrument himself.
Boccherini was different. He began studying the cello as a child, gave his first public performance at age 13, and became a great advocate of the instrument. He eventually composed at least 11 concertos for the instrument, as well as hundreds of chamber pieces involving the cello. The majority of his orchestral output is of little interest to modern audiences, but a few of the cello concertos survive in the standard repertoire. Of these, the one heard tonight is probably the most popular, although it has the least to do with Boccherini's legacy as a composer. Friedrich Grützmacher (1832-1903), one of the virtuoso cellists of his day, altered Boccherini's work considerably. Taking advantage of his own technical abilities, he altered the solo part to make it more difficult; dissatisfied with the emotional impact of the original second movement, he substituted a different Boccherini composition; accustomed to a lusher orchestral sound, he gave the supporting instruments a greater role. The result is a hybrid that was born in the Eighteenth Century, was modified according to Nineteenth Century tastes, and has somehow stumbled through the Twentieth Century without being either restored or reimproved.
Cellists continue to embrace the work because of its Classical elegance, idiomatic writing, and wealth of sunny melodies. A typical concerto of the time begins with a long stretch of music for orchestra alone, in which all of the main melodic material is introduced. In the first movement of this piece, however, the orchestral introduction is brief, and the cellist assumes the responsibility for presenting nearly every theme. The second movement, as far as Boccherini ever knew, was from a different one of his cello concertos. In the Grützmacher rendition, the movement is more overtly emotional than might have been typical during the time of composition; but, in any case, the movement provides the soloist with an opportunity for great lyricism. The finale is a buoyant rondo, with the principal theme never away for very long, and the character dominated by humor and good spirits.