In the 18th century, serenades were sequences of relatively short instrumental pieces. They were played in social entertainment situations, usually dedicated to a particular personality. We do not know to whom Mozart dedicated Serenade No. 10 in the early 1780s when he moved to Vienna. Perhaps to Emperor Joseph II. Perhaps to Constanze, whom he married around the same time. What is certain is that it became known as Gran Partita, as it was the longest instrumental work in his entire catalog. Richard Strauss’s first sonatina for wind instruments was composed a century and a half later, at the end of his life, while he was recovering from pneumonia – hence its subtitle “From the Sickroom.” The work surprises us with its manifest classicism, as if the author of the opera Elektra wanted to return to the beginning of his career.
Harmonias de Viena
Orquestra Académica Metropolitana
R. Strauss Sonatina No. 1 for Wind Instruments
W. A. Mozart Gran Partita
Jean-Marc Burfin and/or Orchestral Conducting Students – ANSO musical direction
