A prolific composer as well as inveterate transcriber, Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) created the Introduction and Fandango of his most popular piece by stitching together two different earlier works. Boccherini, the Italian composer living and working in Spain, took the two opening movements of his String Quintet in D major for two violins, viola, and two cellos, Op. 10/6, G. 270, composed in 1771, reversed their order and added them to the two opening movements of his String Quintet in D major for two violins, viola, and two cellos, Op. 40/2, G. 341, composed in 1788 to create his String Quintet in D major for two violins, viola, cello, and guitar, G. 448, in 1798. The result is a work completely unified by both the key, the ensemble, the mood, and Boccherini's endless fund of melodies. Although over the next two centuries Boccherini's Introduction and Fandango has been arranged for everything from two guitars to guitar and orchestra, the 1798 original is still the most effective and, with Boccherini's castanet obbligato in the closing bars, still the most evocative of the blood and sensuality of the old Spain.

© James Leonard, All Music Guide