Pietro Nardini (1722-1793) was born in the Italian town of Fibiana. He studied the violin with the famous virtuoso and teacher Giuseppe Tartini after which he obtained various positions in southern Germany but eventually returning to Italy to serve as Music Director for the Grand Duke of Tuscany in Florence. Most of his compositions were for the violin. However, he did write at least eight string quartets. The manuscripts of six can be found in the library of the Conservatory of Florence, the other two in Genoa. Most scholars believe that Nardini did not write these works before 1765, yet stylistically they seem to hark back to the Italian baroque era and do not seem in any way influenced by the works of the Stamitzes or Mannheim school, nor those of Haydn and Boccherini. One can almost hear Vivaldi and his contemporaries.

The six Florentine Quartets were published around 1767 and the they do show an evolutionary development with the later quartets making greater use of the lower voices than the earlier works. String Quartet No.5 in G Major is in two movements, Allegro and Andante legerrio. String Quartet No.6 in E flat Major is also in two movements: Allegro and Commodo.

Ours is a modern edition easy to read and complete with bar numbers. Though originally published separately, we offer them together. These unassuming works make an excellent choice for amateur groups or student ensembles.