Mozart; Serenade No. 10 "gran Partita" Schubert; 6 German Dances Orchestrated by Anton Webern

Better known as Gran Partita, Mozart’s Serenade in B-flat major, K 361 is the crowning glory of the Harmoniemusik of the Classical era. Austrian and German nobles in particular often employed small wind ensembles called Harmonien which provided entertainment during banquets and outdoor festivities. In order to satisfy the growing demand for suitable music, countless arrangements of operas and ballet music were made, while original works were supplied by a wide range of composers – Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and many lesser masters wrote Harmoniemusik.

The armonia ensemble, made from the ranks of the Gewandhaus Orchestra and the MDR Symphony Orchestra wind sections, dishes up a veritable explosion of sound on their new GENUIN CD. At the heart of their exploration of Harmoniemusik, music for an ensemble of woodwinds, horns, and double bass, is Mozart's "Gran Partita," the opus ultimum of the genre. In addition, the elite wind players allow us to discover three works by Salieri, whose material was crafted just for them: An opera overture, an " Armonia per un tempio della notte,” and a "Piccola Serenata." The armonia ensemble produces a dense, historically informed sound that beautifully showcases the splendor of these four extraordinary works.

When Mozart took up the popular genre of the serenade, it was to transcend it and lend it new lustre. A festive masterpiece of simplicity and emotion, his Gran Partita quickly became a genuine ‘hit’! Thanks to the distinctive, spellbinding timbres of their period instruments, the members of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin give a unique flavour to these two extraordinary serenades, over which there blows – as it were – a tremendous wind of freedom.

Deutsche Grammophon proudly presents the most authoritative Schubert project ever made, featuring all the masterpieces in timeless recordings plus many rare gems that manifest Schuberts genius.
This first edition comprehensively covers Schuberts vast orchestral, chamber and piano output, containing all the masterworks in definitive recordings by legendary artists: Abbado (symphonies), Kempff (piano sonatas), Melos Quartett (string quartets & string quintet the latter with Rostropovich), Pires (piano works), Gidon Kremer (violin works) Beaux Arts Trio (trios).

Every major conductor, and most not-so-major ones, comes around to recording Eine kleine Nachtmusik, but not so many do it as well as George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra strings. And let’s face it, you won’t find a period-instrument ensemble that plays with anything like this level of polish. The fact is, Szell’s conception of Mozart was not terribly far from “period” sensibilities: restrained use of vibrato, incisive rhythms, crisp ensemble, lively tempos, but also a welcome degree of warmth to the sound and of course incredible ensemble discipline and some of the best players on the planet. And he had real period instruments, meaning performers who owned top quality old violins and bows, not inferior modern reproductions of them. The result is as lovely a performance of Mozart’s perennially delicious Serenade as we are ever likely to hear.

This CD's main attraction for many will be Gil Shaham's velvety violin in gorgeous, largely off-beat music. Others will relish these Schubert works in arrangements that replace the piano with the expert guitar of Göran Söllscher, enhancing the impression of hearing Schubert's music in the intimate domestic setting for which it was written. Most of the works are short, melodically rich dance-based gems on which Shaham and Söllscher lavish a Romantic tonal fullness and freedom rarely heard these days. Sometimes that's a bit too much of a good thing, as works like the Violin Sonata in D veer close to the sentimental.