For six months he played with his friend the violinist Filippo Manfredi, in a quartet that also included Pietro Nardini and Giuseppe Cambini. A year later Luigi performed in Vienna and then in a number of Italian cities, in both orchestras and chamber ensembles. Nonetheless Boccherini made his debut at the age of 13 with a concert in his hometown of Lucca, under the patronage of local maestro di capella Giacomo Puccini (a forefather of the great composer). In those days cellists had few opportunities to play as a soloist. Luigi Boccherini became well-known as a virtuoso musician when he was still a child. He was the only member of the family prepared to follow in his father’s footsteps, taking lessons in singing and cello playing from an early age. Luigi may have selected a different profession due to a limp. Later he successfully trained for a new occupation as librettist, working with Salieri and writing the text for Haydn’s oratorio ‘The Return of Tobias’. Elder brother Giovanni Gastone was also a ballet dancer. Numerous sisters all became ballerinas (his nephew was the renowned choreographer Salvatore Viganò), except one who opted for a singing career. Luigi Boccherini was born into the family of singer and double-bassist Leopoldo Boccherini.
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