Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) - photo 1
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) - photo 2
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) - photo 3
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) - photo 4

Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)

Estimate value
£ 7 000 – 10 000
Auction dateClassic
10.07.2024 10:30UTC +01:00
To bid, go to the website
CHRISTIE'S
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
ID 1249841
Lot 56 | Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
Autograph manuscript, a thematic catalogue of chamber and orchestral compositions, [c.1796-7]
Listing chamber and orchestral compositions composed between c.1775 and c.1787 with incipits. Three leaves in all, 310 x 200mm, the thematic catalogue over three sides, with two additional sides in scribal hands, with legal stamps. Provenance: Sotheby's, 18 & 19 May 1989, lot 375.

A catalogue prepared by Boccherini for his publisher Ignace Pleyel in c.1796/7, containing a group of instrumental compositions compiled during negotiations for the publishing of the music, within a legal document signed by royal notary Antonio Martinez Llorente. The works included are ordered according to Boccherini’s own cataloguing: Op. 21, ‘Sei Sinfonie, Op[er]a grande’ (c.1775); Op. 25, ‘Sei Quintetti, opera grande’ (c.1778); Op. 27, ‘Sei Quintettini, opera piccola’ (c.1779); Op. 28, ‘Sei Quintetti, op[er]a grande’ (c.1779); Op. 29, ‘Sei Quintetti, op[er]a grande (c.1779); Op. 30, ‘Sei Quintettini, op[er]a piccola’ (c.1780); Op. 31, ‘Sei Quintetti, opera grande’ (c.1780); Op. 32, ‘Sei Quartetti, opera grande’ (c.1780); Op. 33, ‘Sei Quartettini, opera grande’ (c.1781); Op. 34, ‘Sei Terzetti, op[er]a grande’ (c.1781); Op. 35, ‘Sei Sinfonie, op[er]a grande’ (c.1782); Op. 36, ‘Sei Quintettini, op[er]a piccola’ (c.1784-6); Op. 37, ‘Tre Sinfonie, op[er]a grande’ (c.1786); Op. 38, ‘Cinque sestetti, e un otteto, opera piccola’ (c.1787); Op. 39, ‘Tre quintetti, e un quartetto op[er]a grande’ (c.1787).

Much of the music in this manuscript is derived from Boccherini’s most successful period under the patronage of the Infante Luis Antonio lasting from 1770 until 1785. The manuscript includes the opening pizzicato figure ‘Le campane de l’Ave Maria’ from the composer’s well-known programmatic quintet La musica notturno di Madrid, inspired by the composer’s nostalgia and home sickness felt during the time he spent in exile with the Infante in Arenas de San Pedro.

Surviving letters from this time indicate that the relationship between Boccherini and his publisher was often strained, with the composer’s correspondence apparently answered by discourtesy and procrastination. These manuscripts are of particular significance since the composer’s own thematic catalogue, which he kept from 1760 until the end of his life, was destroyed in the Spanish Civil War of 1936. Published editions by Louis Piquot (1851) and Alfredo Boccherini (1879), the composer’s great-grandson, provide a record of that manuscript and its cataloguing of Boccherini’s instrumental music. The composer’s only known surviving autograph thematic catalogues come from the group prepared for Pleyel, of which just one other is known to have been offered at auction.




Literature

Gerard, Yves, Thematic, Bibliographical and Critical Catalogue of the Works of Luigi Boccherini, London, 1969
Rothschild, Germaine de, Luigi Boccherini: sa vie, son oeuvre, Paris, 1962
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
10.07.2024 – 10.07.2024
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.