Grand Harmonie Opens Fourth Season
with Mozart’s “Gran Partita”
Praised by The Boston Globe as “tight and energetic,” period instrument ensemble Grand Harmonie opens its fourth season with Mozart’s “Gran Partita.” Performances will take place on Friday, October 16, 2015 at 7:30pm at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 838 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, and Saturday, October 17, 2015 at 7:30pm at The Memorial Church, 1 Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA.
Tickets range from $12-$30 and may be purchased online at grandharmonie.org.
Cherished among classical music lovers, Mozart’s “Gran Partita” features 12 wind instruments with string bass to form a complete Harmoniemusik – music for wind band. Performed on instruments from the Classical period, the conductorless evening-length work features seven movements which range from light and playful to deep and introspective. With this piece, premiered in 1784 and led by clarinetist Anton Stadler, Mozart elevated the serenade from background music used for diversion to a higher art form. Throughout the seven movements it reaches near-symphonic proportions, revealing the full breadth of Mozart’s compositional talents.
The work is scored for 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 basset horns (lower pitched tenor members of the clarinet family), 2 bassoons, 4 horns, and double bass. The paired wind instruments and double bass allowed Mozart the full range of instrumental registers for musical combinations and sounds. The work flows between instrumental solos and the full ensemble joining together. The third movement, Adagio, is most well known for being featured in Amadeus (1984), the Academy Award-winning film adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s play of the same name (Tony Award for Best Play, 1981). It is at this point in the film that Mozart’s rival, composer Antonio Salieri, realizes the depth of Mozart’s musical genius.
About Grand Harmonie:
Grand Harmonie brings vibrant, historically-informed, period-instrument performances of Classical and Romantic music to audiences across the Northeast. Founded in 2012 by a group of wind players interested in exploring the repertoire of Harmonie bands of the 18th century, the scope of the ensemble includes Harmoniemusik, salon concerts, mixed chamber music, full symphony orchestra, and both concert and fully-staged opera.
A key player in the arts community, Grand Harmonie enjoys collaborations with numerous organizations and universities, and appears on multiple concert series in both Boston and New York. Recent collaborations include performances with Harvard University Choir, Boston Opera Collaborative, Lorelei Ensemble, Bach Vespers NYC, GEMS Midtown Concerts, Met Museum Gallery Concerts and more. The ensemble, a proven educational resource, has been invited to give performances and master classes in historical performance practice at Harvard University, The Longy School of Music of Bard College, NYU, the University of Washington, and Palm Beach Atlantic University.
Grand Harmonie is supported by a George Henschel Community Award grant from the Harvard Musical Association, and the Princeton Friends of Opera.
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