Cello Concerto No. 9 in B-flat major, G. 482

Most listeners have heard a version of this concerto without knowing it, because the edition that circulated for over a century was a substantial recomposition: in 1895, the German cellist Friedrich Grützmacher merged material from several Boccherini concertos, replaced the original slow movement with one from a different concerto, and rewrote large portions of the outer movements to suit Romantic virtuoso taste. The original manuscript, rediscovered in 1949, turns out to be a lighter, more conversational piece, with the orchestra opening the first movement before the cello enters with its own melodic line and the two trade ideas in a relaxed dialogue. The slow movement of the original is an Andantino grazioso, where the cello sustains a long, unhurried melody above a spare accompaniment, and the finale is a bouncy rondo whose main theme returns several times between more playful episodes.

What to listen for

In the first movement, notice how Boccherini keeps the cello mostly in its upper registers rather than in the thick, low-string range associated with later concertos, giving it a vocal, almost flute-like quality. In the slow movement, pay attention to how little the orchestra does: it holds back to let the solo line breathe, with only minimal harmonic support underneath. In the finale, the rondo theme is short and rhythmically crisp, and each time it returns it is slightly varied in articulation or register.

Recommended rendition

Steven Isserlis with the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra and Juha Kangas has been frequently described as a benchmark account of the original-text version, recorded for RCA.

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