Boccherini, String Quartet in G major, Op. 44, 4, G. 223 La Tiranna

Luigi Boccherini (17431805) String Quartet in G major, Op. 44, 4, G. 223 La Tiranna (1792) 00:00 Presto (Tirana) 06:52 Tempo di Minuetto Performed by Ensemble 415. Recorded by Harmonia Mundi in 1990. The Quartettino in G major, christened La Tiranna by the composer himself, because of its first movement, a tirana, i. e. a dance that was much in vogue in Madrid at the end of the century. Boccherini raises this light, ostinato rhythmic dance to the level of a masterpiece by means of the perfection of his adaptation for the string quartet form, rounding it off with a magnificent minuet in which the violin and viola, playing in unison throughout, produce a sense of extreme limpidity. La Tiranna, a musical portrait of María del Rosario Fernández, la Tirana, who was also painted by Goya Probably not; neither a dancer nor a singer, this actress s nickname was due to her husband, also an actor, who excelled in the roles of Emilio Moreno (trans. James Wootton) Painting: Offering to Flora, Juan van der Hamen