“The piece is absolutely useless, even ridiculous, outside Spain, because the audience cannot hope to understand its significance, nor the performers to play it as it should be played.”

So said Luigi Boccherini, composer of La Musica Notturna delle strade di Madrid, a string quintet which creates a soundscape of a sultry night in late 18th-century Madrid. His self-deprecating comments have had no impact on the work’s success: the ritrata was a hit during his lifetime and was adapted by Luciano Berio in 1975. It has gone on to feature on many film soundtracks, including Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

Now it is the opening work for the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra’s first concert for 2023, and they are determined to ‘play it as it should be played’, whatever that means. Here, it means taking on board Boccherini’s directions to mimic the rough edges of a street band, to play out of time, and to create the jangle of bells as a sound effect rather than a musical idiom. It is a fascinating lesson in un-learning for these highly sophisticated experts: the rhythmic sheen of the ritrata contrasts dramatically with the thick mooch of the Rosario and the rattle...