The Kölner Akademie in Germany are undertaking a survey of Mozart’s serenades and other incidental works. Their first CD in this series included the Posthorn Serenade, and they demonstrated an excellent performance of this composition.
On this recording the group takes on one of the most famous of the serenades, the Haffner, named after Sigmund Haffner, who commissioned it for the festivities surrounding his sisters wedding in 1776.
A notable feature of Mozart’s serenades and the large-scale Haffner is no exception is the incorporation of virtuosic solo parts, here performed by the violinist Alexander Janiczek.
The serenade is followed by Mozarts Musical Joke ( Ein musikalischer Spaß), K522. A work in four movements, this is a delightful and very skilfully crafted parody of musical incompetence. It is written for strings and a pair of horns, and its frequent caricatures of the second-rate (whether in composition or performance) are brilliantly observed, by Mozart as well as the present performers.
Here is Mozart’s Haffner Serenade, as conducted by Charles MacKerras:
