Composizione modulare e relazioni intertestuali nelle sinfonie di Boccherini

With the sole exception of the paraphrase of Gluck’s Don Juan, it doesn’t seem that in the context of Boccherini’s symphonies (self-)borrowings can be defined as real (self-)quotations. We are rather in the presence of a “modular” compositional technique, which consists in adapting the same materials (which can go from a simple motive to a whole movement) to the most different contexts. When an idea is good, Boccherini loves to propose it in different compositions, always preserving its recognizability while elaborating specific adaptations; in general, however, rather than intervening on the materials with “Viennese” techniques of elaboration, he prefers to intervene on the contexts, acting on the position of the materials inside the new structure and on the means (cadential gestures, connection measures, etc.) with which they are inserted.