Search - Mozart :: The Complete Mozart Divertimentos: Historic First Recorded Edition: CD 6

This last of six CDs containing the complete set of Mozart Divertimentos, the only recording ever made of this repertoire, contains March and Divertimento No. 17. Representing the consummate performance of this monumental work by seven consummate musicians, this recording contains the most famous tunes of the genre, perhaps the best known of all of the composer's melodies. The ensemble is led by violinists Felix Galimir and Isidore Cohen; liner notes by famed scholar and pianist Robert Levin. Also available as part of a six-CD boxed set containing the entire Divertimento collection. Perhaps the central quality of the Divertimento No. 17 in D, K. 334/320b, is its personal warmth and charm. These are already evident in the introductory march, K. 445/320?whose casual ease is animated by an extraordinary variety of melodic material (including an anticipation of the opening of the divertimento proper)?and above all in the justly celebrated first minuet, almost a Ländler. The melody is given to first violin and viola in octaves, with pizzicato accompaniment lightly underscored by the horns. The overall feeling of lightness and grace is that of Mozart at his best. © 2002 Robert Levin