Mr. Peabody Says:

This is Mozart’s most famous piece. It was completed in Vienna on August 10, 1787. We do no know when the first performance took place. We do know that at some point it went viral in the 20th and 21st centuries, and it’s never been less than popular for more than two centuries.

The Gewandhaus Quartet:

1. Frank-Michael Erben 1st violin
2. Conrad Suske 2nd violin
3. Volker Metz viola
4. Jürnjakob Timm cello
5. Stefan Adelmann doublebass

Movements:

1. Allegro (G major – D major – Ambiguous key – G major) 5:25
2. Romanze: Andante (C major) 5:35
3. Menuetto: Allegretto (G major, with trio in D major) 2:12
4. Rondo: Allegro (G major – D major – Ambiguous key – G minor – G major) 5:04

Total time: 18:16

Arndt Auhagen/Concertgebouworkest Young

1. Allegro (G major – D major – Ambiguous key – G major) 5:41
2. Romanze: Andante (C major) 5:40
3. Menuetto: Allegretto (G major, with trio in D major) 2:36
4. Rondo: Allegro (G major – D major – Ambiguous key – G minor – G major) 4:13

Total time: 18:10

These kids are 14 to 18. I love this performance. But this is full of energy and sounds like something that was written yesterday, not hundreds of years ago.

Instruments:

• two violins
• viola,
• cello
• double bass,

This is often performed by string orchestras

“Eine kleine Nachtmusik” means “A Little Serenade”:

The traditionally used name of the work comes from the entry Mozart made for it in his personal catalog, which begins, “Eine kleine Nacht-Musik” – a little serenade. Mozart was only entering in his records that he had completed a small composition.

A serenade is a vocal or instrumental performance given outdoors at night for a woman being courted. In other words, romantic music sung at night outdoors, and people still do this today. In other words, if you sing a love song at night, you are singing a serenade.

But in the time of Mozart it was also an instrumental composition in several movements, usually written for somewhat small group of players and usually played in a chamber room. A movement is just a part of a longer composition that has a clear beginning and ending so that it can be performed by itself.

It’s a composition for a chamber ensemble:

The word “chamber” just means a big room, and in the time of Mozart this was a place where musicians not only performed but also got together to share their newest music. If you wanted to get together with your closest friends and “try stuff out”, you played chamber music.

Köchel:

The real name is Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major), K. 525. When you see “K.” it is an abbreviation for “Köchel“, who was the man who attempted to put all of Mozart’s compositions in chronological order. Over the last couple hundred years this list has been revised as new facts come to light about when things were composed as well as how many things Mozart wrote.

Mozart died broke:

This was published after Mozart died in about about 1827.Mozart died in 1791, so it took 36 years for the music to get printed. It was sold to a publisher in 1799 by Mozart’s widow Constanze as part of a large bundle of her husband’s compositions. Mozart was one of several famous composers who died with almost no money, true also of Vivaldi, Schubert, Chopin any many others I can’t think of at the moment.

Today, the serenade is widely performed and recorded and is without doubt one of the most popular pieces ever written and also most instantly recognizable.