The Divertimento in E major, K. 563, is a

string trio A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. From at least the 19th century on, the term "string trio" with otherwise unspecified instrumentation normally refers to the combination violin, viola and cello ...

, written by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

1788 Events January–March * January 1 – The first edition of ''The Times'', previously ''The Daily Universal Register'', is published in London. * January 2 – Georgia ratifies the United States Constitution, and becomes the fourth U.S ...

, the year in which he completed his last three symphonies (nos. 39–41) and his "Coronation" Piano Concerto. It is his last

divertimento (; from the Italian '' divertire'' "to amuse") is a musical genre, with most of its examples from the 18th century. The mood of the '' divertimento'' is most often lighthearted (as a result of being played at social functions) and it is generally ...

and different from his other divertimenti not only in its instrumentation but also in its compositorial ambition and scope. The work was completed in Vienna on 27 September 1788 and is dedicated to

Michael von Puchberg __NOTOC__ Johann Michael von Puchberg (September 21, 1741, Zwettl, Lower Austria – January 21, 1822, Vienna) was a textile merchant who lived in Vienna in the 18th and early 19th centuries. He is remembered as a friend of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart w ...

, a friend and fellow

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, who lent money to Mozart. The premiere was in Dresden on April 13, 1789, with

Anton Teyber Anton Teyber (8 September 1756 (bapt.) – 18 November 1822) was an Austrian organist, Kapellmeister and composer. Anton Teyber was born and died in Vienna. His brother was Franz Teyber. He taught the children of the Holy Roman Emperor before w ...

taking the violin part, Mozart playing viola and

Antonín Kraft Antonín Kraft Antonín Kraft (30 December 1749, Rokycany – 28 August 1820, Vienna) was a Czech cellist and composer. He was a close friend of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. He worked in the Holy Roman Empire and later in the Austrian Empire. B ...

playing cello. At the time Mozart was conducting a tour of German cities, on his way to Berlin (see

Mozart's Berlin journey One of the longest adulthood journeys of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a visit, beginning in spring 1789, to a series of cities lying northward of his adopted home in Vienna: Prague, Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin. Departure The journey took place d ...

Movements

The work is in six

movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...

: Recorded performances of the Divertimento range from 41 to 50 minutes.

Critical reception

Alfred Einstein Alfred Einstein (December 30, 1880February 13, 1952) was a German-American musicologist and music editor. He was born in Munich, and fled Nazi Germany after Adolf Hitler, Hitler's ''Machtergreifung'', arriving in the United States by 1939. He is b ...

wrote in ''Mozart: His Character, His Work'' (and as excerpted in the notes to a

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

performance), Mozart's only completed string trio shares with most divertimenti this six-movement format, but from that no lightness of tone should be understood – rather, "it is a true chamber-music work, and grew to such large proportions only because it was intended to offer ... something special in the way of art, invention, and good spirits. ... Each instrument is ''

primus inter pares is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their seniority in office. H ...

'', every note is significant, every note is a contribution to spiritual and sensuous fulfilment in sound." Einstein called it "one of his noblest works". Early performances of the work, however, were greeted with less enthusiasm. Tully Potter, in his notes to a recording, reports that when the Philharmonic String Trio of London performed the work in 1936, "that pompous old Wagnerian

Ernest Newman Ernest Newman (30 November 1868 – 7 July 1959) was an English music critic and musicologist. ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' describes him as "the most celebrated British music critic in the first half of the 20th century." His ...

reported that 'the work is over-long, and some of it mere music-spinning of the conventional eighteenth-century type'. He did, however, concede that 'the Adagio is an impressive piece of work' ". However, Potter also reports that when members of the Busch Quartet performed it in Basel in 1931, the painter Alfred Heinrich Pellegrini was so impressed that he made a painting of the performance. Mozart's Divertimento in E major is "one of a kind", according to the notes to an

Emerson String Quartet The Emerson String Quartet, also known as the Emerson Quartet, was an American string quartet initially formed as a student group at the Juilliard School in 1976. It was named for American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson and began touri ...

performance. However, it is not the first work written for string trio; for example

Wenzel Pichl Wenzel is a male given name (long version Wenzeslaus) as the German and Old English form of the Czech given name Václav or Venceslav, meaning "praised with glory". Variations are Вячеслав (Ukrainian and Russian), Vencel (Hungarian), Wacław ...

published six trios for violin, viola and cello written at least five years earlier.

References

External links

* *
Divertimento for String Trio, K. 563

Artaria Artaria & Co. () was one of the most important music publishing firms of the late 18th and 19th century. Founded in the 18th century in Vienna, the company is associated with many leading names of the classical era. History Artaria & Co. was foun ...

edition (ca. 1792) at the

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the biggest universal and research libra ...

*, performed by members of the Takeuchi String Quartet. {{Authority control Serenades and divertimenti by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Compositions for string trio 1788 compositions Compositions in E-flat major Music dedicated to benefactors or patrons