Aiken Symphony Presents Mail From Mozart

All the rage in the 1780’s, “harmonie” ensembles were small wind bands typically comprised of woodwinds and horns. So popular were these groups that the emperor had his very own, and it may even be for the emperor’s ensemble that Mozart wrote his Gran Partita for 13 wind instruments. Featured prominently in the film Amadeus, this “grand serenade” is charming through and through. Between each movement, letters home to his father that Mozart wrote while living in Vienna will be read, perhaps even by Mozart himself!