Mozart: Six Vienna Sonatinas

Author: (Austria) Mozart
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Mozart may have composed these five Divertimenti for two bass clarinets and contrabassoon (or three bass clarinets) between 1783 and 1785 for his circle of friends in Vienna. Although we do not have Mozart's manuscript of these five works today, we can be certain that the works mentioned in Constanze Mozart's letter to the publisher André on May 31, 1800, were created by her husband. She wrote in the letter, "Steidel [] has a hand-copied score of a bass clarinet trio that no one knows about. He said that the box containing these manuscripts was stolen during his trip to Germany." These works were published in three versions around 1803, along with a five-part version that added two horns. For Mozart's distinctive "Viennese Sonatinas," an outstanding performance requires high wisdom and musical sensitivity, as well as excellent and imaginative technical skills. It is hoped that this version can encourage performers to adopt a new theoretical and interpretive approach to them.