Leopold & Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Kindermusik

Featuring

Florent Albrecht
Ensemble L'Encyclopédie
Leopold Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Edmund Angerer

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Historical Context

Viennese music in the second half of the 18th century incorporated folklore and tradition, using original forms and atypical instruments to assert its popular origins.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The album's program aims to explore the joyful aspects of Viennese classicism during the Enlightenment, particularly through the music of Leopold and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Instruments

For the 'Kindersinfonie' (Toy Symphony), the performers sourced original 18th-century toy instruments, including an Austrian earthenware nightingale and a military drum from the French revolutionary period.

Compositional Technique

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 'Serenata notturna' uses a traditional serenade form but transforms it with elegant galant themes and subtle musical language, showcasing his accomplished style at age twenty.

Composer Biography

Leopold Mozart, father of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, taught his son and traveled across Europe to showcase his genius and the perfection of classical art.

Composition History

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 'Ein musikalischer Spaß' (A Musical Joke) was completed less than three weeks after his father Leopold's death in 1787, suggesting it was a personal tribute rather than a commission.

Interpretation

The performers on this album aimed to recreate the original spirit of Leopold Mozart's descriptive works by precisely following his intentions for narrative sound effects.