Ein kleine Nachtmusik K.525 (1787)

Literally translated as “a little night music” Eine kleine Nachtmusik really means nothing more picturesque than “a short serenade.” When Mozart wrote the work, however, it was not as short as it is now, since it contained another minuet, which has since got lost. Regrettable though that loss is, and worrying though it is for musicologists that they know nothing about the circumstances of its composition, Mozart’s last serenade remains a miracle of engaging melody impeccably presented in four perfectly formed movements. Commentators have tried to find hidden depths in it - suggesting, for example, that the Romance was inspired by the recent death of the composer’s father - but there is no point in attempting to complicate perceptions of music of such radiant clarity.

The most popular of mozart’s works is also the one we know least about. We know when it eas written - in August 1787 - but we do not know for whom or for what purpose. It is not clear whether it was intended for small string orchestra or string quintet (with double bass doubling the cello throughout) and there is even some doubt about the number of movements it should have.

The composer entered it into his own cataloge as “Eine kleine Nachtmusik consisting of an Allegro, Minuet and Trio, Romance, Minuet and Trio, Finale.” If he actually completed all the movement he listed the first minuet and trio is missing from the work as we know it. However, apart from the feeling that we might have been somehow cheated of a movement by Mozart in his best mood for entertaining, the musicological problems are no obstacle to the enjoyment of the work. Mozart clearly intended that, by whatever ensemble it is played, its audience should be charmed and gently exhilarated but no disturbed. The slighly more urgent middle section, in the tonic minor, in the Romanze is there only to offset the serenity on either side.