A little serenade...
Feb. 4th, 2007 12:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranSo, I was in town the other day and the question came up - do I need another recording of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik? The CDs on offer were a mid-price 2-CD set of serenades and divertimenti from DG, with Herbert von Karajan and the BPO. The price wasn't quite cheap enough to make me grab it, but it was tempting enough to stick in mind.
The first question is why I was even tempted at all. I already have two complete recordings, one by Karl Böhm and the Vienna Philharmonic and one from my Brilliant classics set. I also have two recordings of the first movement, including one by Karajan and the BPO that may even have been from the same recording I was considering buying. Just to round things out, I also have a full version of a vocal arrangement (by the Swingle Singers).
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is a fairly uncool piece to admit liking, for a number of reasons. First of all, it's the piece most people point at when they say they don't like Mozart. Often it's the only piece non-Mozart fans may have heard of. Second, and somewhat more damningly, it's also often the only piece that some people who say they do like Mozart have heard of. To admit that you like it too, is to run the risk of implying that you haven't yet explored the real treasures of the Köchel catalogue, that you haven't journeyed through the Adagio in B minor, or laughed aloud at the jokes in the Haffner symphony or felt the quiet heartache of the G minor Quintet. On the other hand though, for all the schmaltzy treatments Eine Kleine Nachmusik's received and all the wedding quartets rolling the eyes and tearing their hair out, there are very few people who might listen to the whole thing and not leave in a better mood than when they started.
Mozart's divertimenti and serenades get something of a bad rap. Of all his compositions, these are the pieces that have the most right to be called "elevator music", because that's essentially what they were. They weren't meant to be listened to in hushed concert halls, they were supposed to be background music while people ate and talked. And the real surprise, is that once you start actually listen to them, there is some astonishing music underneath. The Gran Partita is effectively a wind symphony - an hour long with an emotional journey from lightness through romance to darkness and back again. A true demonstration of a master in command of his powers. The Haffner Serenade contains an entire violin concerto (including some of his most virtuosic writing) tucked away amongst its opening movements. The C Minor wind serenade is, when played sympathetically, a surprisingly dark and powerful piece. And, of all these, the "little serenade" ("night music" is something of a clumsy, if literal, translation) which is surprising in its lightness and simplicity without ever being too much or too little.
If you're not a Mozart fan, then you probably need to understand that all Mozart is effectively confection. It's just that some is strawberry shortcake and some is dark chocolate mousse. And even a soufflé has merit on the dinner table, if it's a perfect soufflé.
The first question is why I was even tempted at all. I already have two complete recordings, one by Karl Böhm and the Vienna Philharmonic and one from my Brilliant classics set. I also have two recordings of the first movement, including one by Karajan and the BPO that may even have been from the same recording I was considering buying. Just to round things out, I also have a full version of a vocal arrangement (by the Swingle Singers).
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is a fairly uncool piece to admit liking, for a number of reasons. First of all, it's the piece most people point at when they say they don't like Mozart. Often it's the only piece non-Mozart fans may have heard of. Second, and somewhat more damningly, it's also often the only piece that some people who say they do like Mozart have heard of. To admit that you like it too, is to run the risk of implying that you haven't yet explored the real treasures of the Köchel catalogue, that you haven't journeyed through the Adagio in B minor, or laughed aloud at the jokes in the Haffner symphony or felt the quiet heartache of the G minor Quintet. On the other hand though, for all the schmaltzy treatments Eine Kleine Nachmusik's received and all the wedding quartets rolling the eyes and tearing their hair out, there are very few people who might listen to the whole thing and not leave in a better mood than when they started.
Mozart's divertimenti and serenades get something of a bad rap. Of all his compositions, these are the pieces that have the most right to be called "elevator music", because that's essentially what they were. They weren't meant to be listened to in hushed concert halls, they were supposed to be background music while people ate and talked. And the real surprise, is that once you start actually listen to them, there is some astonishing music underneath. The Gran Partita is effectively a wind symphony - an hour long with an emotional journey from lightness through romance to darkness and back again. A true demonstration of a master in command of his powers. The Haffner Serenade contains an entire violin concerto (including some of his most virtuosic writing) tucked away amongst its opening movements. The C Minor wind serenade is, when played sympathetically, a surprisingly dark and powerful piece. And, of all these, the "little serenade" ("night music" is something of a clumsy, if literal, translation) which is surprising in its lightness and simplicity without ever being too much or too little.
If you're not a Mozart fan, then you probably need to understand that all Mozart is effectively confection. It's just that some is strawberry shortcake and some is dark chocolate mousse. And even a soufflé has merit on the dinner table, if it's a perfect soufflé.
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Date: 2007-02-04 03:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-04 06:01 am (UTC)