Mozart: Kleine Nachtmusik (Eine) / Serenata Notturna / Divertimento No. 10

Featuring

Wolfgang Sobotka
Cappella Istropolitana
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Did you know?

1/7

Composition History

The Serenata Notturna and the two Divertimenti (sometimes called Lodron Nightmusic) were occasional pieces written to celebrate the name-day of Countess Antonia Lodron, a leading patroness of music in Salzburg.

Composer Biography

As a child, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart enjoyed phenomenal success, traveling through Europe and performing for royalty and nobility with his sister Nannerl.

Historical Context

After 1771, Mozart's patron, Archbishop Hieronymus von Colloredo, curtailed the family's concert tours, confining Mozart to Salzburg, a situation he and his father found unworthy of his genius.

Compositional Technique

Mozart's Serenata Notturna, K. 239, is scored for a concertino of single strings and a ripieno of strings and timpani, an arrangement reminiscent of the Baroque concerto grosso form.

Composition History

Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525, was written in August 1787, while Mozart was preparing his opera Don Giovanni, and was likely intended for domestic performance.

Composer Biography

Mozart spent the last ten years of his life in Vienna, having broken with his employer, the Archbishop of Salzburg, and without the secure patronage he had hoped for.

Performer Biography

The Capella Istropolitana is a chamber orchestra formed in 1983 by leading members of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra in Bratislava, many of whom are experienced soloists.