String Quintet in E major, Op. 11, No. 5 (Boccherini) String Quintet in E major, Op. 11, No. 5 (Boccherini) The String Quintet in E major, Op. 11, No. 5 (G 275), by Luigi Boccherini was written in 1771 and published in 1775. Being one of his most famous works, the quintet is famous for its minuet third movement (often referred to as "The Celebrated Minuet") which is most-often played as a standalone piece outside of the context of the full quintet. This string quintet is a "cello quintet" in that it is scored for a string quartet (two violins, viola, cello) with a second cello as the fifth instrument.
String Quintet in E major, Op. 11, No. 5 (Boccherini) the viola and celli have eighth note pizzicato. The second violin, on the other hand, has quick sixteenth note slurs which contain many string crossings. As Elisabeth Le Guin puts it in "Boccherini’s Body: An Essay in Carnal Musicology", “The second violinist has no time for "galanterie"; he must concentrate on keeping the constant string crossings reasonable even through the length of the bow”. The arrangements of this quintet, especially of the minuet, are extremely numerous. The entire piece was arranged for a double viola quintet in the 18th century. A 19th century transcription of the minuet for the organ