TITLE: Serenade No. 11 in Eb major, K. 375 (1781)

COMPOSER: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

There were seven children born to Leopold Mozart and Maria Anna Pertl, however, only two survived, one being Wolfgang Gottlieb. The day after his birth, he was christened Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus. His father, Leopold, was not only a gifted violinist, keyboard and organ player, he was also quite famous as a music pedagogue in Austria and Europe. Leopold was very involved with his children's upbringing and success in music. He educated his children at home. Mozart was a child prodigy composing and performing in public prior to his seventh birthday. He toured Europe with his father throughout his childhood. The family lived in Salzburg. Mozart decided, against his father's wishes, to leave the service of the archbishop of Salzburg and move to Vienna. It was during this period of his life,at the age of twenty-five, that Mozart composed the Serenade No.11 for St. Theresa's Day.

MOVEMENTS: Four

1. Allegro Maestoso 7' 11"
2. Menuetto/Trio 3' 57"
3. Adagio 5' 56"
4. Menuetto/Trio 2' 39"
5. Allegro 3' 15"

PERFORMANCE TIME: 22' 18"

INSTRUMENTATION: 8 Instruments

• 2 Oboes, 2 Bb Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns

EDITIONS: Available for Purchase

1. Edwin F. Kalmus Edition (preferred)

2. International Music Company Edition

COMPOSITION SKETCH AND MUSICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The Serenade in Eb, K. 375, a product of Mozart's Vienna period, was composed in 1781. It was originally scored for a sextet of clarinets, horns and bassoons. The following year the work was revised, with much of the original clarinet material assigned to the oboes. The first published edition reflects this revised scoring. All of the instruments are engaged in each of the five movements, with the second bassoon usually functioning as the ensemble's bass.

While the five-movement scheme is standard for serenades of the era (Mozart's earlier Gran Partita expanding on this plan, and the later C-minor work dropping the first menuet), the movements in and of themselves offer some surprises. Most notably, the opening movement's account of sonata form is unlike any other. The attempt at a formal development section is abandoned after twenty measures of apparently directionless tonal meandering (which send the music abruptly but briefly into the relative minor). Equally surprising is the new theme that appears during the recapitulation, set for solo horn in gavotte rhythm, and the movement's pianissimo ending. The first menuet is notable for its long and weighty trio; the slow movement, for its cantabile melodic lines shared by all the first-desk players; the second menuet, for its hemiolas and naive-sounding musette-style trio; and the finale for its closely-reasoned account of Mozart's own favorite formal innovation, the sonata-rondo.

SELECTED RECORDINGS:

RELATED WEBSITES:

Mozart Page - http://www.w-a-mozart.com/

Mozart Biography - http://www.sciortino.net/wambiog.html

Mozart Midi File Page - http://midiworld.com/cmc/mozart.html

Mozart's Music - http://mozart.composers.net/html/music.html