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The horn of Mozart's day was a natural one, that is to say, it had no modifying valves, and the performer was obliged to make the notes either by using a crook or by changing the lip pressure.
It follows that a composer had to take great care in finding a skilled horn player for his music. Mozart composed the Quintet in E flat major K 407 for horn virtuoso-turned-cheese-merchant Ignaz Leitgeb, probably in Vienna in 1782. In fact all Mozart's horn compositions were written with this player in mind. A work in three movements, the Quintet K407 is essentially a horn concerto scored for chamber ensemble with the horn dominating the ensemble in the two outer movements. Indeed, for all their wit and charm, the two outer movements are as conventional as anything Mozart was writing at the time, albeit with themes filled with the affection the composer felt for his soloist. The central Andante, however, is of a much higher order, the tenderness of the horn matched by the gentleness of the violin, producing a duet of graceful perfection and profound humanity.
The String Quintet K 614, composed in 1791 is the the last of Mozart's Chamber Works.
Like all Mozart's string quintets, it is scored for 2 violins, 2 violas and cello. It was published posthumously in May 1793 and was advertised in the Wiener Zeitung as being “at the very urgent request of a music lover”
Mozart, one of the greatest piano virtuosos of his time, was also an accomplished violinist (he called himself the best in the world!), but his favourite stringed instrument was the viola. When in informal quartet sessions with partners like Haydn and Dittersdorf and all three claimed the viola part, it was Mozart who won. It is in his six string quintets that he really declared his love for the instrument with some of the warmest, most luxurious viola parts ever written before or since.
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| For a full listing of this seasons concerts, please select the 2010-2011 Season menu item or click here. |
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| The Midland Chambers Players Society is a Registered Charity: HT/500193/R
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