Mozart – Serenade in B flat major KV 361 “Gran Partita”

Can a small ensemble perform a monumental work? Absolutely, as is demonstrated so impressively by Mozart’s Serenade for Winds in B flat major, K. 361. Just a handful of musicians – 13 in all – enchant us for well over 45 minutes with a superb and inimitable serenade of symphonic proportions. In this highly original composition one must constantly admire the thrilling presence of the players who perform brilliantly both as soloists and in pairs. Bowing to the traditions of the Viennese Divertimento, Mozart unfolds his artistic and entertaining ideas before his good-humoured audience, both those of then and of now. The small forms, such as the courtly Minuet and the cheerful Laendler, provide a marked contrast to the sanctified Adagio and the blithe Rondo-Finale in the manner of a drinking song.