Boccherini backs his cello soloist with an orchestra of only strings (plus negligible harpsichord continuo) more often than not, concentrating the prime accompaniment material in the violins to produce the greatest possible contrast with the soloist. The concerto's opening Allegro takes off from a hearty, bouncy principal theme and a rather formulaic second subject, the latter quietly stating a skeletal motif that contrasts high notes and low and then erupting into a few measures of passagework. All of this is succinctly laid out by the orchestra before the cello's entrance high in its range with a twisting commentary on the first theme. The soloist proceeds to work through all of the thematic material quite freely. It's soon clear that Boccherini is adhering to the old solo ritornello form, with the soloist's increasingly far-flung musings on the melodies broken in the middle by a passage for the orchestra alone. At the end of its second solo passage, the cello indulges in a brief cadenza that breaks away for the orchestra to play the primary theme one last time. The idyllic Adagio is a somewhat more equal duet between solo cello and the violins, which shadow the soloist's melody. A minor-key episode at the center of the movement introduces an element of pathos; after the orchestra introduces this section, it recedes into the background, leaving the cello as the dominant voice. This material seamlessly flows into a return of the opening material, now more introverted, followed by a heartfelt cadenza liberal with double stops. The lively concluding Allegro assai in triple meter initially seems to set a rustic scene with the drone in the bass, but the violins quickly take charge with a sprightly theme that the cello then adapts to its own purposes. The soloist's goal here is to complicate the melodic line as much as possible for virtuosic effect. As in the first movement, the orchestra offers the soloist a moment of rest with its own elaboration of the thematic material, then the cellist returns for further rhapsodizing on the tunes and a short but difficult cadenza of fast runs, whereupon the orchestra wraps things up with a final restatement of the opening theme.

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