Mozart, "Eine kleine Nachtmusik"

 
Although it seems unusual to put it this way, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was for much of his life a musician who would compose "on demand." Unlike the musicians of the later Romantic era, the works that came from his pen were almost always motivated by specific commissions, either because they were intended for a specific performer or orchestra, or because they were intended to please some aristocrat or bourgeois who, by the way, wanted the work at home as soon as possible.

Mozart was obliged to write quickly, despite which he fulfilled orders in very short periods, although the pay was never enough. "A lot for what I do, very little for what I could do," he replied in writing on one occasion, upon receipt of his "fees", although this time he referred to his salary as a part-time "chamber musician" of Emperor Joseph II.

Despite all that has been said, perhaps the most popular piece by Mozart has no known recipient and it is not known why he wrote it. But we do know exactly the end date of its composition — August 10, 1787 — because that is how it appears in the catalog he began to build in February 1784, the year in which he was also working on Don Giovanni, whose entry into the catalog follows that of the Serenade No 13.

In his catalog (which he planned to end around 1800, hopefully "updated" by that time) Mozart would annotate five pieces by facing pages. On the right page he would write down the initial two or three measures of the composition, and on the left, the date, the title and the instrumentation. In the image, the Serenade entry is the last one, at the bottom of the page. What Mozart writes here does not seem like a title at all but rather a few words as a summary or reminder. He writes: "Eine kleine Nachtmusik ... [the movements] ... 2 violini, viola e basis."

The catalog entry let us know that the work has five movements, but one of them would have been lost or Mozart did not get to compose it as the piece that is heard today only has four. In addition, let us point out that the composition was never performed during the composer's lifetime.

Serenade No 13 for strings in G major - Movements:
00       Allegro
05:46  Romance
11:20  Minuet and trio
13:30  Rondo

The rendition is by the Gewandhaus Quartet, a Leipzig-based group founded in 1808, joined on this occasion by a double bass as a guest artist.