Mozart: 6 String Quintets on Historical Instruments

Featuring

Lorenza Borrani
Maia Cabeza
Max Mandel
Simone von Rahden
Luise Buchberger
Spunicunifait

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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Composition History

Mozart's first string quintet, K.174, completed in December 1773, was likely inspired by the two Notturni by Johann Michael Haydn, Joseph Haydn's younger brother.

Critical Reception

Mozart's two late quintets, K.593 and K.614, composed in 1790 and 1791, were sometimes dismissed as 'second-rate works' by analysts like Hans Keller.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Mozart's string quintets, with their five-player setting, allowed him greater freedom than string quartets, enabling him to explore his operatic style and instrument conversations.

Historical Context

The classical string quintet, as Mozart knew it, was a late-blooming genre that became widely cultivated in Vienna during the 1780s.

Album & Artwork

The ensemble Spunicunifait is named after a mysterious three-word phrase, 'Spuni Cuni fait,' written by Mozart in a letter to his cousin, which could mean 'spun from rabbit hair' or simply 'nonsense'.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Mozart's 'late' style, particularly in works like K.614, shows a return to an earlier Baroque aesthetic of 'unity of affect' while maintaining surface variety.

Interpretation

The ensemble Spunicunifait performs these quintets on historical instruments, carefully chosen to replicate what musicians of Mozart's era might have used.