Divertimento in D major, K. 131

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Divertimento in D major, K. 131 (1772) 00:00 - Allegro 05:14 - Adagio 11:54 - Menuetto 17:29 - Allegretto 20:40 - Menuetto 24:19 - Adagio - Allegro molto - Allegro assai Performed by Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (1987). "The Divertimento in D, K. 131, written in Salzburg in the summer of 1772, is an ambitious work, both in scaling and structure. Two violins, two violas, and bass are contrasted with a concertante group of flute, oboe, bassoon, and four horns. The richness of the tone color is unusual. One senses the young Mozart's delight in experimenting with sound. In the use of the horns, confined to the natural notes, he shows rare imagination. The concertante element is at once revealed in the first sonata-'allegro', which begins with a unison motto. The subsidiary thematic group is ruled by the woodwinds, led by the flute. This concertante element reaches its peak in the two minuets (movements 3 and 5). The first of these, reserved for the strings, is attended by no less than three trios: a horn quartet, a woodwind trio in G major with virtuoso triplets for the flute, and a dialogue in D minor between horns and woodwind. Matters are reversed in the second minuet: here, the main section is for the horns, while the two trios offer dialogues between strings and flute (trio 1) and between strings and oboe (trio 2). The dancing, bouncing 'Allegretto' (no. 4) for strings and woodwind, has concertante interpolations throughout. At the start of the finale (movement 6) the horns introduce, surprisingly, an 'Adagio-Chorale'; toward the end they are joined by the woodwinds. The strings then open the 'Allegro molto' in sprightly, rushing quavers. The tutti joins in and the whole blossoms into a brilliant interplay of all the groups. Each group has its moment of solo brilliance, and there is a sizeable development section in the middle. The coda switches quite suddenly to an amiable 3/4 time, before reaching an exuberant, whirlwind finish. Just one movement rejects concertante wit and brilliance: the A major 'Andante' (movement 2) for strings alone. A sensitive, wide-ranging violin melody unfolds above a simple harmonic foundation. The turn to the minor key at the start of the second section is startlingly beautiful. This is music which seems to have forgotten social convention." - Miriam Verhey-Lewis