Divertimenti For 2 Oboes, 2 Horns And 2 Bassoons

Mozart wrote the five Divertimenti for Wind Sextet between the years 1775 and 1777 when he was living in Salzburg. The Italian title is reminiscent of simple 'light? music, but the pieces' melodic ingenuity and colourful writing for winds show it to be chamber music of the highest quality. Our edition is based on the autograph and brings together all five authentic sextets in one practical edition. An ensemble with the standard instrumentation (two oboes, two horns and two bassoons) will discover a true musical treasure. The two horn parts are provided both in the original transpositions (F/Bb/Eb) and also for horn in F. / 2 Hautbois, 2 Cors Et 2 Bassons

Serenade für 13 Instrumente-An announcement in the Wiener-Zeitung read: ?Concert. Today [23 March 1784] Herr [Anton] Stadler Sr. presently in the service of His Majesty the Emperor will hold a concert for his own benefit at the Royal Imperial National Court Theatre in which among other select pieces he will present a grand work for wind-band of a quite special character composed by Herr Mozart.? That this was almost certainly four movements from the present Serenade in B-flat major K.361 is suggested by an account of the occasion published some months later which states ?Today I heard a composition by Herr Mozart in 4 movements for wind ensemble . . . comprising 13 instruments: 4 horns 2oboes 2 bassoons 2 clarinetts 2 basset horns and a contrabass viol. . . .?Much music of the serenade-divertimento-cassation-Nachtmusik type was written in a light style and intended for social occasions rather than formal concerts. In such a context K.361 is striking for its seriousness of artistic content its length (seven movements lasting nearly an hour) and its extended instrumentation (most wind-band music of the period calls for five to eight or nine players not thirteen). If the work was not conceived in the first instance as a concert work its potential as such must have been recognized early on by Mozart or Stadler.- Urtext of the New Mozart Edition- Parts (BA5331-22) and study score format 22.5 x 16.5cm (TP312) available for sale