Boccherini began writing string quintets after he became court composer in Aranjuez for Don Luis, the brother of King Carlos III of Spain. Don Luis also employed the Font String Quartet, a father and three sons, whom Boccherini would join as a second cello. Having an extra cello allowed him to use the cello as more than just the traditional continuo bass line. He used both cellos more fully, as much as part of the melody and harmony as the violins and viola. His first set of six quintets was written in 1771 as his Op. 11. It was published four years later, which was when it was also given the Op. 13 designation. This final quintet in E major from the set includes Boccherini's most famous melody, the Minuet. The Amoroso that opens the quintet is not a typical first movement for the period. It is not in the sonata-allegro form, and it is slower than Allegro, being marked Andantino mosso. It is a smooth, luxurious dialogue between the muted instruments. Often the two violins are paired, as are the viola and first cello, moving in parallel thirds over a gently pulsing bass. Approximately two-thirds of the way through there is a rapid, Italianate duet between the cellos, a brief interlude in the otherwise serene movement. The Allegro con spirito that follows is more like what is traditionally expected as a first movement. In true sonata form, it uses simple harmonies and call and response between instruments to create a lively, almost celebratory or regal disposition. Third is the famous Minuet, with examples of all Boccherini's favorite melodic tricks: repetition of short motives, triad or scalar figures, rhythmic symmetry, and delicate ornaments. The violins play with mutes on, while the other instruments play pizzicato. The second violin provides the pulse under the first violin's syncopated melody. In the Trio section, scalar figures make up the melody, which is passed between all the instruments, still with the offbeat feel of the Minuet. The rondo finale has a main subject in much the same spirit as the second movement. During the intervening episodes, all the performers have a chance to use trills, double stops, and more to show off their skills. The episodes also provide Boccherini the opportunity to more fully explore shifts in tonality. The final statement of the theme is played resolutely, ending with a decisive series of chords.

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Along with "Night Music from the Streets of Madrid" and the Introduction and Fandango, the greatest hit of Luigi Boccherini is his Minuet in A major. Taken from his Quintet in E major for two violins, viola, and two cellos, Op. 13/5, G. 275, the Minuet is quintessential Rococo, a delightful confection that has become known to an enormous audience in its various arrangements as the embodiment of the final years of the Old Régime in Europe. With its instantly memorable, gracefully elegant tune in the first violins over a lightly buzzing accompaniment rest of the strings in the outer sections in the tonic major, and its equally instantly memorable but slightly more vigorous tune for the violas and cellos beneath witty comments from the violins in the central Trio, Boccherini's Minuet has charmed and delighted two centuries of music lovers. While arrangements of the work range from guitar solo to piano solo, from string trio to string orchestra, from violin or flute with orchestra to full orchestra, Boccherini's original still retains its primacy as the most effective and most evocative form of the work.

© All Music Guide

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Along with "Night Music from the Streets of Madrid" and the Introduction and Fandango, the greatest hit of Luigi Boccherini is his Minuet in A major. Taken from his Quintet in E major for two violins, viola, and two cellos, Op. 13/5, G. 275, the Minuet is quintessential Rococo, a delightful confection that has become known to an enormous audience in its various arrangements as the embodiment of the final years of the Old Régime in Europe. With its instantly memorable, gracefully elegant tune in the first violins over a lightly buzzing accompaniment rest of the strings in the outer sections in the tonic major, and its equally instantly memorable but slightly more vigorous tune for the violas and cellos beneath witty comments from the violins in the central Trio, Boccherini's Minuet has charmed and delighted two centuries of music lovers. While arrangements of the work range from guitar solo to piano solo, from string trio to string orchestra, from violin or flute with orchestra to full orchestra, Boccherini's original still retains its primacy as the most effective and most evocative form of the work.

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