Sunday 1 November 2009
Tune of the Day: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
This Serenade in G major is arguably the most enduringly popular of all of Mozart's works. It was written in 1787, during a period when the composer was also hard at work on his opera Don Giovanni. The title Eine kleine Nachtmusik (literally, “A Little Night Music”) is Mozart's own; “Nachtmusik” was actually a common designation for serenades of this type.
The first movement is probably the most famous. It is in sonata-allegro form, and starts off with a Mannheim rocket theme. This is typical feature found in many works of the Mannheim school composers, basically consisting in a swiftly ascending passage. The second theme, on the other hand, is more graceful and in D major, the dominant key of G major.