Mozart wrote the Divertimento K247 in June 1776 for the name-day of Countess Maria Antonia Lodron, a family friend whose two daughters were pupils of the composer. He went on to write the Concerto for Three Pianos with the countess and her daughters as the intended soloists. Meanwhile K247 displays the 19-year-old composer's lyrical gifts but also his structural sophistication and his unerring feel for instrumental sonorities.
K287 followed in 1777 as a direct sequel, composed for the same occasion and the same forces, and cast in comparably expansive terms across six movements. The intervening year seems to bring a refinement of both craft and humour, for K287 is one of the miracles of Mozart’s lighter music, touched with high contrasts, memorable themes and sturdy developments. The second movement is a genial Andante and Variations which instantly transcends its ‘occasional’ context. The heart of the work is the Adagio, placed fourth, where the solo violin outlines a melody cast from the same mould as the slow movement of the G major Violin Concerto K216 from two years earlier. But then Mozart comes up with a genuinely funny musical joke at the start of the finale, where the strings paint a recitative without words, like a virtual soprano on an empty stage.
Testifying to their adaptability, these divertimenti have attracted performances and recordings by forces ranging from the one-per-part Vienna Octet to Karajan’s Berlin Philharmonic. This new recording presents an attractive middle way, infused with vigour and charm by the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra of Pardubice under the baton of the Armenian conductor Vahan Mardirossian. Mardirossian and his Czech colleagues have made several successful albums together, including the serenades by Dvořák on Brilliant Classics (97030). Their recording of these perennially appealing early-Mozart works is accompanied by a new essay from Mark Viner.
- A substantial part of Mozart’s oeuvre consists of works that may be called ‘entertainment music’. Most of these pieces were composed for festive occasions in Salzburg, such as name days, birthdays and other festivities. There are indications that a number of them were meant to be played out‐of‐doors, in a rustic garden setting with party guests enjoying a drink or a meal. Many of the easy‐going works were labelled ‘Divertimento’, others ‘Serenade’, ‘Cassation’ or ‘Notturno’. There is no sharp dividing line between these genres, although Divertimenti were generally meant for performance by a relatively small ensemble, while the other terms could imply orchestral performance.
- This new recording presents two Divertimenti KV 247 and 287, generally titled “Lodron Night Music”, as they were composed for the name day of Countess Antonia Lodron, and were first performed on 18 June 1776 in Salzburg. The melodic richness, charm and infectious brilliance and wit made these works particularly popular.
- Played by the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice conducted by Vahan Mardirossian.
