An announcement in the Wiener-Zeitung read: “Concert. Today [23 March 1784] Herr [Anton] Stadler Sr., presently in the service of His Majesty the Emperor, will hold a concert for his own benefit at the Royal Imperial NationalCourt Theatre in which, among other select pieces, he will present a grand work for wind-band of a quite special character, composed by Herr Mozart.” That this was almost certainly four movements from the present Serenade inB-flat major, K.361, is suggested by an account of the occasion published some months later, which states, “Today I heard a composition by Herr Mozart in 4 movements for wind ensemble . . . comprising 13 instruments: 4 horns,2oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 clarinetts, 2 basset horns and a contrabass viol. . . .”
Much music of the serenade-divertimento-cassation-Nachtmusik type was written in a light style and intended for social occasions rather thanformal concerts. In such a context K.361 is striking for its seriousness of artistic content, its length (seven movements lasting nearly an hour), and its extended instrumentation (most wind-band music of the period calls forfive to eight or nine players, not thirteen). If the work was not conceived in the first instance as a concert work, its potential as such must have been recognized early on by Mozart or Stadler.
- Urtext of the NewMozart Edition
- Parts (BA5331-22) and study score format 22.5 x 16.5cm (TP312) available for sale
- ISMN: 9790006204199 (M006204199)
