Serenade No. 9 (Mozart)

Serenade No. 9
Posthorn
by W. A. Mozart
1777 Bologna portrait of Mozart
KeyD major
CatalogueK. 320
OccasionEnd of term
Commissioned byUniversity of Salzburg
ComposedSalzburg, 1779
Performed1779
Durationc. 45 minutes
Movements7
ScoringOrchestra with posthorn

The Serenade for Orchestra No. 9 in D major, K. 320, Posthorn, was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Salzburg, in 1779. The manuscript is dated 3 August 1779 and was intended for the University of Salzburg's "Finalmusik" ceremony that year.[1]

The serenade is scored for two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, post horn, timpani and strings. This scoring is unusually large for a work of this type. Normally, the same players would play oboe and flute, but in this case they appear simultaneously. The timpani, also, were not usually part of the serenade orchestra.[2]

It has seven movements:

  1. Adagio maestoso – Allegro con spirito, common time
  2. Minuetto, 3
    4
  3. Concertante: Andante grazioso in G major, 3
    4
  4. Rondeau: Allegro ma non troppo in G major, 2
    4
  5. Andantino in D minor, 3
    4
  6. Minuetto – Trio 1 and 2, 3
    4
  7. Finale: Presto, cut time

The Concertante and Rondeau movements feature prominent concertante sections for flutes, oboes, and bassoons. These were performed on their own in a concert in the old Vienna Burgtheater on 23 March 1783, along with the Haffner symphony, an aria from Idomeneo, and several other works.[3]

A post horn, for which this serenade is nicknamed

The first trio of the second minuet features a solo piccolo (called "flautino" in the manuscript) played over strings. The second trio of the second minuet features a solo for the post horn. This solo gives the serenade its nickname.

A typical performance lasts approximately 45 minutes and is often performed together with the two marches in D major, K. 335, preceding and following respectively.

Discography

Below is an incomplete list of recordings.

Year Conductor Orchestra Label Has two marches
1983 James Levine Vienna Philharmonic Deutsche Grammophon No
1984 Nikolaus Harnoncourt Staatskapelle Dresden Teldec Yes
1985 Charles Mackerras Prague Chamber Orchestra Telarc No
1985 Neville Marriner Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Philips Classics Yes
1987 János Rolla Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra Hungaroton Yes
1990 Martin Turnovský Capella Istropolitana Naxos No
1994 Colin Davis Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra BMG Music No
1996 Wolfgang Gröhs Europa Symphony Arte Nova Classics No
1996 Christopher Hogwood Academy of Ancient Music Éditions de l'Oiseau-Lyre Yes
2014 Nikolaus Harnoncourt Concentus Musicus Wien Sony Classical Yes (No. 1 only)
2024 Vahan Mardirossian Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra Brilliant Classics No
2025 Reinhard Goebel Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg Berlin Classics Yes

Notes

  1. ↑ Sadie, Stanley. Mozart: The Early Years, 1756–1781, pp. 503–505, New York: W.W. Norton & Co. (2006) ISBN 0-393-06112-4.
  2. ↑ Quinn, Michael (2008). "Serenades". In Eisen, Cliff (ed.). The Cambridge Mozart encyclopedia (Repr ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. p. 453. ISBN 978-0-521-85659-1.
  3. ↑ "Mozart's concert at the Burgtheater, Vienna: 23 March 1783", Mozart & Material Culture
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