Will You Do the Fandango?
Classical guitarist Jason Vieaux
What happens when an Italian composer, a Spanish dance, a classical guitar, and a string quartet meet?
In the hands of composer Luigi Boccherini, the answer is one of the most irresistible pieces of 18th-century chamber music.
On November 8, Grammy-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux joins the Escher Quartet at Rackham Auditorium for an afternoon of music that explores the colorful possibilities of guitar and strings. The program ranges from Prokofiev and Castelnuovo-Tedesco to music by Jorge Morel, J.S. Bach, Agustín Barrios, and Vieaux himself. One work in particular promises to take listeners on a remarkable journey: Boccherini’s Guitar Quintet in D Major, G. 448, better known as the “Fandango.”
Vieaux and the Escher Quartet have performed and recorded this music together, so their UMS performance offers a chance to hear a work they know intimately — and to experience its extraordinary transformation from quiet pastoral beauty to exuberant Spanish dance.
What is a fandango?
So what exactly is a fandango? And how does Boccherini get us there?
The fandango is a lively Spanish dance that emerged in the 18th century. Traditionally associated with two dancers, it is characterized by an infectious rhythmic pulse and a sense of increasing intensity. Guitar playing, singing, hand-clapping, and castanets can all be part of the tradition.
Composer Luigi Boccherini
For Boccherini, the fandango offered a way to bring the sounds and rhythms of his adopted country directly into the concert hall.
Born in Lucca, Italy, Boccherini spent much of his career in Spain, where he worked as a cellist and composer for Spanish nobility. He was deeply immersed in the musical culture around him, and the influence of Spanish dance and guitar music can be heard throughout his later works.
The Guitar Quintet in D Major dates from 1798 and was created for François de Borgia, Marquis de Benavente, an amateur guitarist. Rather than composing an entirely new work, Boccherini adapted movements from two of his earlier string quintets, replacing the second cello with guitar. The result is a fascinating meeting of old and new: music originally conceived for strings is transformed by the distinctive color, articulation, and rhythmic possibilities of the guitar.
And that transformation becomes especially dramatic as the piece reaches its famous finale. Preview the journey, one movement at a time.
I. Pastorale: A gentle beginning
The quintet opens with a Pastorale—and the name tells us a lot about what to expect.
Pastoral music traditionally evokes an idealized countryside: peaceful, spacious, and uncomplicated. Boccherini creates precisely that atmosphere with a graceful, flowing melody and muted strings. The guitar slips into the texture almost like another voice, gently rippling beneath and around the quartet.
There is no sense yet of the fiery dance that awaits us at the end o the piece. Listen for the delicate sound of the muted strings and the guitar’s gentle accompaniment.
II. Allegro maestoso: The energy rises
The mood changes considerably in the second movement.
The Allegro maestoso is more animated and expansive, with a greater sense of momentum. The cello takes on a particularly prominent role, including passages that climb into its upper register, while the other instruments provide a rich backdrop.
The guitar remains an important part of the ensemble, but again, Boccherini isn’t simply setting up a competition between guitar and strings. Instead, the instruments continually trade roles and colors. Listen for the contrast between the strings’ singing quality and the guitar’s crisp, rhythmic articulation.
III. Grave assai: Everything changes
And then, suddenly, the energy disappears.
The third movement, marked Grave assai, slows the music down dramatically. After the brightness of the opening movements, we enter a darker, more reflective world. This movement is particularly important because it acts as a bridge to the Fandango. The music begins in the major mode that has characterized the earlier movements, but gradually darkens as it moves toward the minor.
Listen closely, and you can almost feel Boccherini preparing the stage. The music becomes increasingly expectant. The guitar’s plucked sounds take on a different character in the quieter atmosphere, while the strings create an almost theatrical sense of anticipation.
IV. Fandango: Let the dance begin
And then—the Fandango! This is the moment that has made Boccherini’s Guitar Quintet famous.
Suddenly, the music has a pulse. A rhythmic pattern begins to repeat. The guitar becomes more prominent. The strings start to sound less like a conventional classical string quartet and more like a miniature Spanish ensemble.
The fandango was a dance of passion and movement, and Boccherini captures that energy through repetition and accumulation. Rather than racing immediately toward the finish, he builds the excitement layer by layer. Listen for the guitar’s rhythmic drive, and the castanet-like rhythms and percussion effects that make the finale so unmistakable
From Italy to Spain—and from 1798 to today
More than two centuries later, Boccherini’s music still feels fresh because its appeal isn’t confined to a particular musical era. There is the elegance of the Classical style, the intimacy of chamber music, the distinctive voice of the guitar, and the sheer physical pleasure of rhythm.
Escher Quartet
It’s also a perfect showcase for the partnership between Jason Vieaux and the Escher Quartet. Vieaux, praised by NPR as “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation,” makes his UMS debut alongside the quartet, which made its own UMS debut in 2024.
And, by the time the dance arrives on November 8, you’ll understand exactly why this piece has remained Boccherini’s most famous musical calling card.
Starting at $36 (+ fees). $15-20 student tickets available
