It is hard to believe that Mozart's serenade "Eine kleine Nachtmusik," one
of his most popular works, is still shrouded in mystery: although it was
completed on 10 August 1787, we know neither for what occasion nor for whom
it was written. Furthermore, the absence of wind instruments in a serenade
is unusual since such works were often given outdoors, where the sound of
wind instruments carried better. Finally, the work originally had a second
Minuet and Trio, which was torn out of the autographic score - all enigmas
that continue to ocupy musiciologists while we bask in the cloudless bliss
of this work. Its forceful fanfare opening, lyrical Romanze, stately Minuet
set against a bewitching cantilena in the Trio, and fleet-footed finale -
all these movements fuse together into one of Mozart's lightest and
friendliest scores. Karl Böhm conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Karl Böhm (1894-1981) was universally acclaimed for his Mozart
interpretations. Though Wagner was one of Böhm's first loves, his
friendship with Richard Strauss led to a deep knowledge and appreciation
of Mozart. In his autobiography, Böhm wrote that "Richard Strauss revealed
to me the ultimate secrets of this, in my opinion, greatest of all musical
geniuses, Mozart." Böhm's discovery of these secrets transformed his
Mozart interpretations into unforgettable events.