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Sinfonia Concertante KV 297b for oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon and orchestra
Serenade KV 204 · March KV 215
Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg · Hubert Soudant, conductor

Mozart from Salzburg – OehmsClassics is now releasing a series of recordings by the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg. The intimate connection of this ensemble to its city’s most famous son is evident: the orchestra was founded in Salzburg in 1841 on the 50th anniversary of Mozart’s death as the “Dommusikverein und Mozarteum” with the help of Mozart’s widow Constanze von Nissen. Since then, Mozart’s symphonic works are one of the orchestra’s primary repertoire points.

From 1994 to 2004, Hubert Soudant was the principle conductor of the Mozarteum Orchestra. After passing on this position to Ivor Bolton, Soudant remains closely associated to the group as its first guest conductor. During the ten-year cooperation between Soudant and the Mozarteum Orchestra, the conductor’s exceptionally successful interpretions of Mozart and other Viennese classic composers were critically acclaimed by press and public alike. Numerous tours throughout Europe, the USA and Japan brought him and the orchestra astounding commendation.

The fine art of entertainment

In the 18th century, the term “Sinfonia concertante” designated pieces for several solo instruments accompanied by orchestra and organized in the form of a symphony. Whether or not the so-called Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat Major, K. 297b was written in its entirety by Wolfgang Amadé Mozart has not been completely determined. It is a fact, however, that Mozart mentions a work for a similar instrumentation in a letter written to his father from Paris in 1778. The quality of the composition implies that it could be based on sketches by Mozart. But is the version that has come down to us from Mozart, or someone else? This is almost impossible to resolve because we have no manuscript; only a copy. Such problems with 18th-century works are not new; many pieces were attributed at whim to the composing members of the Mozart and Haydn families or their contemporaries and students. The 18th century was a time when every musician constantly had to write new works. The originals were often lost. In contrast to today, there was a generally accepted style; copyrights didn’t exist.

The opening movement of the work, Allegro, sounds like truly inspired Mozart. The cadenza is ensemble writing of the highest quality and exists in a written-out version. The middle movement, Andante, is also typical for Mozart, with its melodic elegance and songlike beauty. In the third movement, Andantino, the composer takes a simple, folk-music-style theme and writes ten highly creative variations on it. Whoever wrote this ingenious piece in the version that has reached us, with wonderful passages for the soloists, did a masterful job and proved that in Mozart’s time, there was no separation between “serious” music and “entertainment”. Anachronistically said, an 18th-century composer was simultaneously a classical musician and a popstar.

During his Salzburg years, Mozart wrote a series of priceless occasional works. All of these divertimentos, serenades and nocturnes were written for festive evening parties, open-air celebrations for weddings, saint’s days, or in the case of the Serenade in D Major, K. 204 with its March in D Major, K. 215, for the celebrations accompanying the end of the Paris- Lodron-University year.

The musicians met in front of Mozart’s house at 8:30 p.m. on a summer evening in 1775 and marched to Mirabell Castle playing the march, continuing with the serenade for the princely archbishop. They then wandered across the Salzach bridge to the university (today, the old university) and repeated the serenade for all the professors. During the warm weather, such pleasant music was not only for the enjoyment of the honorees, but for the ‘common’ folk as well. This merry entertainment was largely not heard in ‘fine’ concert halls again until the early 20th century, when Mozart’s youthful works were rediscovered.

In contrast to the symphony, these pieces consist of loosely connected dance and slow movements. Concerti for solo instruments and orchestra are often inserted in the serenades; in our case, there are two of these. The concertmaster has a “singing” solo in the Andante as well as a “marching” one in the Allegro. Also noteworthy is that the flutists of the time always played oboe, and as this movement demonstrates, they constantly had to alternate instruments. The Trio of the following Menuett requires virtuoso passagework from the solo violinist. The fifth movement contains several surprises: a wind concertino (flute, oboe, bassoon, two horns) rich with nuances, and the flute solos in the second Menuett. The Finale, which alternates between an elegant Andantino and a buoyant Allegro, is an impressive last dance.