Duration: 40 minutes
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Serenade No. 9 in D Major, K. 320 “Posthorn” (1779)
Mozart completed his “Posthorn” Serenade on August 3, 1779, in Salzburg.
The nickname is derived from the appearance of a post horn in the work’s
penultimate movement. The post horn, a small circular brass instrument
without valves, was originally used by postilions and mail-coachmen.
Scholars differ as to the specific occasion for which Mozart wrote this
work. Mozart’s early biographer, Franz Peter Niemetschek, claimed that
the “Posthorn” Serenade was composed to celebrate the feast day of the
Salzburg Archbishop, Hieronymous Colloredo. Maynard Solomon, in his
biography Mozart: A Life (HarperCollins, New York, 1995), posits that given
the date of composition, the “Posthorn” Serenade was probably used for
graduation ceremonies at the Salzburg University.
In any event, it is clear Mozart thought very highly of this composition.
On March 23, 1783, Mozart offered a triumphant concert at the Vienna
Burgtheater. As he proudly described to his father, “I need not tell you very
much about the success of my concert, for no doubt you have already heard
of it. Suffice it to say that the theater could not have been more crowded and
that every box was full.” Among the members of the audience was Emperor
Joseph II of Austria.
The “Posthorn” Serenade is in seven movements. Tonight’s performance
represents an abridged version featuring movements I, V, VI, and VII. The first
opens with a stately, slow-tempo introduction (Adagio maestoso), resolving to
the principal Allegro con spirito. In the Serenade’s fifth movement (Andantino),
Mozart injects haunting pathos into a work otherwise notable for its optimism
and high spirits. The post horn makes its appearance in the penultimate
movement, a Minuet (Menuetto). The “Posthorn” Serenade concludes with
a bracing Finale (Presto).
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, on January 27, 1756,
and died in Vienna, Austria, on December 5, 1791.
13G
program notes
