Festive matinee

Mozart's Divertimento in E flat major K. 563, composed in 1788, has been called a "noble" chamber music work. Only the description of the work as a "divertimento" conceals the fact that it is already a string trio - a string trio that is unique in the history of music. To this day, it captivates with its diverse themes as well as its extremely clearly characterised phrases, which range in character from lyrical to dance-like passages. In a total of six movements, Mozart illuminates this not yet fully established instrumentation of violin, viola and cello in a variety of ways, making this work far more than just light music, as the title would suggest. With highly demanding parts, Mozart elicits sounds from the instruments that are still unrivalled today. Eight years earlier, he had already made another gift to chamber music: with the Oboe Quartet in F major K. 370, he gave the oboe, violin, viola and cello a concerto in miniature format. In it, the string instruments not only embrace the warm sound of the oboe, but also focus on each other and skilfully accompany the virtuoso passages of the other instruments.