Divertimento Berlin (Germany)

Musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic and Berlin National Opera House

Monday, October 23, 2006 20:00     Dom Pedro V Theatre     250

Rainer Sonne and Ying Zhang, Violins
Ulrich Knoerzer, Viola
David Riniker, Cello
Rudolf Watzel, Double Bass
Klaus Wallendorf and Sarah Willis, Horns

Programme:
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Sextet in E-flat major, op. 81b

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Duo for Violin and Viola No. 1 in G major, KV 423

Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868)
Duo for Cello and Bass in D major

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Divertimento in D major, KV 334

The casual divertimento was the appetiser of the Classical Era's musical forms. It took a composer like Mozart to transform this light repast into a veritable food of the gods. Drawn from the ranks of the Berlin Philharmonic, the septet offers Macao these delicacies on a silver platter. The horns shine in Beethoven's sextet and perhaps the finest of Mozart's divertimenti, and the unusual musical dialogues in Rossini's duo  lead the violoncello and contrabass in a unique exchange, giving a sample of the finest fare of the age.

Duration: approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes, including one interval