Luigi Boccherini was respected and admired throughout Europe as a composer and virtuoso cellist. English music historian Charles Burney wrote: «He has perhaps supplied the performers on bowed instruments and lovers of Music with more excellent compositions than any other master of the present age, except Haydn. His style is at once masterly and elegant.

There are movements in his works, of every style, and in the true genius of the instruments for which he writes, that place him high in rank among the greatest masters who have ever written for the violin or the violoncello...» The great master Haydn himself once described Boccherini as a «genius». And Mozart demonstrated esteem for his colleague in a number of works, particularly in his string quintets.

Boccherini’s quintets are among the finest examples of classical chamber music and have rarely enjoyed the appreciation they deserve. His works for flute and string quartet (the so-called flute quintets) bear witness to the originality of this composer. The characteristic charm, extraordinary invention and cheerful spirit of his music are clearly evident in these works.

The flute quintets, which Boccherini categorized as «opera piccola» (small works, in contrast to the three and four-movement works which he described as «opera grande» and for which he charged publishers double the price), are all two-movement compositions, in general an Allegro or an Andante followed by a Minuet or a Rondo. The «lighter» style of these diminutive gems is evident in Boccherini’s free treatment of form and the use of strong contrasts to create subjective shifts of mood.

These works are particularly noteworthy for their highly personal style of expression, which is at once sincere, elegant and serene. They are masterfully performed by Switzerland’s leading string quartet, Quatuor Sine Nomine, and flutist Béatrice Jaermann-Degex.