Mozart: Divertimento No. 15 in B-flat major, K. 287/271h (with Score)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Divertimento No. 15 for 2 horns & strings in B-flat major ("Lodron Serenade No. 2"), K. 287/271h (with Score) Composed: 1777 Performance: Camerata Salzburg 00:00 1. Allegro (B-flat major) 09:01 2. Thema mit Variationen: Andante grazioso (F major) 17:17 3. Meneutto - Trio (B-flat major - G minor) 20:45 4. Adagio (E-flat major) 28:55 5. Menuetto - Trio (B-flat major - E-flat major) 32:40 6. Andante - Allegro molto (B-flat major) Mozart composed a matching pair of works, this one and the Divertimento in F, K.247 exactly one year earlier, to commemorate the name day of Countess Maria Antonia Lodron, a family friend and member of the Salzburg aristocracy. He further favored the countess and her family with a concerto for three pianos, K.242, so that she might perform with her two daughters, both of whom were Mozart's pupils. The two divertimenti are nearly identical in structure and dimension, the principle difference being an extended theme and variations movement in the later work in place of the shorter andante found in the first. The later work is slightly but noticeably broader in scope than the earlier one and begins more sweetly with a lyrical first movement and is more delicate. The theme and variations is typically ingenious as are the two minuets. The intervening andante is unique, containing eerie, almost pensive passages and ends quizzically. The concluding andante is symphonic in nature and sounds both dramatic and romantic.