Chamber Concert

The chamber music of the Viennese Classical period contains both occasional works for private music-making as well as sophisticated concert music – and this duality will be evident in this charming concert for winds and strings. Mozart’s Flute Quartet in D major, composed during his stay in Mannheim in 1777, and Haydn’s Divertimento in C major, composed during his second trip to London in 1794, were both commissioned by amateur flutists. On the other hand, Mozart conceived the oboe part of his Quartet in F major, composed in 1781, for one of the best oboists of that time, Friedrich Ramm; it was probably intended as a token of appreciation for Ramm’s excellent performance at the premiere of Idomeneo in Munich. Beethoven had something quite different in mind with the three String Trios op. 9: with their heightened expressivity and expansive dimensions, they embody a type of chamber music that is no longer lightweight but rather has become a serious discourse for connoisseurs. The third Trio in C minor constitutes the pinnacle of the set.