# Mozart Divertimento No. 15



## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I wasn't sure whether to post this in chamber or orchestral.

I watched Balanchine's ballet to this music last night. Balanchine apparently claimed it was the finest divertimento ever written. And I love Mozart.

It was a less than perfect performance. I saw at least two missteps (and I'm not all that good at spotting those). But what distracted me the most was the music. It had no life, and to my ears the violins were out of tune. So when I got home I went to my music library to see if I had a recording of it. I do - von Karajan and the Philharmonia from the big EMI box of a few years back, but I would like to find at least one more. While I have a number of HIP Mozart recordings, I tend to prefer my Mozart from modern chamber orchestras (ASMF, ECO, Orpheus).

Any suggestions?


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Ensemble on Philips or the Vienna Octet on Australian Eloquence.
Both are excellent.


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

Mozart's Divertimenti were written as background music for social events, so I find it strange that Balanchine would want to choreograph K. 287 for dancers. But I suppose it could work, considering that Mozart was incapable of writing muzak. Even so, this music wasn't intended to grab people's attention in the middle of a dinner conversation. Bearing that in mind, I suppose there is an art to playing Mozart's Divertimenti, i.e., the music shouldn't be too lively and extroverted--as it wasn't intended for recital, and yet it shouldn't be lifeless, joyless, and dull either. Rather it should hang in the air & bring stimulation, contentment, and a good mood to the social gathering. (It's probably excellent music to study or read to.)

Off the top of my head, I'd say the best performances I've heard of Mozart Divertimenti have come from Ensemble Zefiro and Ensemble Philador, as well as the Consortium Classicum, L'Archibudelli, and the Freiburg Barockorchester; however, none of those groups recorded K. 287 in their surveys (or CDs). And, of these ensembles, only Consortium Classicum plays on modern instruments, but they're a wind ensemble (so they recorded only the Wind Divertimenti). Hogwood's recordings with the Amadeus Winds are also good, but again, not surprisingly given the name of the group, there is no K.287 (& they play on period instruments).

That leaves only the following recordings by modern instrument groups of Mozart's Divertimenti no. 15 "Lodron" K. 287, as far as I know (& by the way, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra didn't record K.287 in their box set either):

Camerata Bern (originally on Novalis, reissued by Brilliant)
Camerata Salzburg, Sandor Vegh (Capriccio)
Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra, Janos Rolla (Hungaroton)
Academy of St. Martin's in the Fields (Philips)
Ensemble Wien (Koch, Sony)
Vienna Octet (Eloquence)
Orchestra of St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble (Musical Heritage Society)
Salzburg Soloists (Red Note)
New York Pro Musica (?)
I believe there's also an old Toscanini recording too (?).

Obviously, I haven't heard all of the above recordings, so it's not possible to give a genuine recommendation that takes all of them into account. However, I have, at one time or another, heard those by Camerata Bern (Thomas Furi), Camerata Salzburg (Sandor Vegh), Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra (Janos Rolla), and the Academy of St. Martin's in the Fields. And as far as I can recall, Vegh tends to approach this music with a good deal of gusto & attack (i.e., he's more red-blooded in Mozart, though not unrefined), as well as a certain degree of romanticism in the slow movements (perhaps unavoidable on modern instruments). While Rolla is relatively smoother and more elegant, and maybe a tad less lively (though not superficial), but also quite romantic at times. The Academy of St. Martin's in the Fields are very good musicians too, but I'd say their style & approach is slightly more reserved or restrained. Indeed, they play K. 287 more as lovely background music than either Rolla & Vegh. Both the ASMF and Camerata Bern are probably the least romantic of the 4 groups in their approach; which counts for something in my view, as I don't think Mozart should sound like Brahms or Bruch, especially in the slow movements (such as with Karajan on DG?), since clearly, it isn't music of the late Romantic age.

Nor do I especially enjoy hearing Mozart's Divertimenti played with a dainty, superficial (even maudlin) "Dresden china" approach either, as with some of the older German & Viennese groups.

Fortunately, if you narrow your choice down to the above four groups, you can decide for yourself, as all of their recordings can be heard on You Tube (I'll even throw in a YT link to Ensemble Wien's recording as well, as I've liked them in other repertory). I like all of the performances below, but if pressed to choose, I might go with Camerata Bern as my first choice, or maybe Vegh, but Ensemble Wien, Liszt Ferenc Chamber Ensemble, and ASMF are excellent too:

Camerata Bern (Thomas Furi):





Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra (Janos Rolla):





Camerata Salzburg (Sandor Vegh):





Academy of St. Martin's in the Fields:





Ensemble Wien:





Hope that helps.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

jegreenwood said:


> I wasn't sure whether to post this in chamber or orchestral.
> 
> I watched Balanchine's ballet to this music last night. Balanchine apparently claimed it was the finest divertimento ever written. And I love Mozart.
> 
> ...


I can't help you with recordings, it's not a piece of music I've ever explored, but I want to say what a shame it is that we can't see this ballet on a video recording -- no doubt the Balanchine estate is vigorously protecting their interests. but nevertheless it's a shame (as far as I know it's never been done by the Royal Ballet, maybe I missed it)


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I have this video which includes a part of it. However:

It is not my favorite part - for this ballet I prefer the ensemble work
It's from a TV show from the 1970s, so picture quality is not great
It may be out of print. Too bad for me as my DVD has stopped working on some of my players
Some people on Amazon say that sound and image are out of sync. I thought that might be true for "Tzigane" as some moves seemed one beat off the music (although that might be what be what Balanchine conceived), but not for "Divertimento."

I too wish there were more NYCB videos available. You can find a growing number posted on YouTube - I assume with no objection from the Balanchine Trust as they've been up for a while. For instance, there a video of "Serenade" from the early 1990s It looks to me as if it were uploaded from a VHS tape.

For something more recent there is NYC Ballet in Paris released last year. The last two works ("La Valse" and "Symphony in C") are outstanding; the others merely good.

Edit - not sure if the Balanchine Trust will allow this to remain up. I have not watched it all the way through, but the beginning of "Walpurgisnacht" is obviously missing.


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

New York Philomusica with Richard Kapp did all the Mozart Divertimenti back in the lp days and it was available on cheap Vox CDs.
Really delightful stuff


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