The repertory of recordings dealing with Classical-era figures beyond the mighty triumvirate of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven continues to grow, and this attractive Super Audio disc of quintets by the Viennese composer and publisher Franz Anton Hoffmeister illuminates several stylistic trends of the period and, as much now as it did in its own day, provides pleasant cocktail-party listening. The word "notturno" in the late eighteenth century simply meant a work suited to performance in the evening; it might just as easily be ...
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The repertory of recordings dealing with Classical-era figures beyond the mighty triumvirate of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven continues to grow, and this attractive Super Audio disc of quintets by the Viennese composer and publisher Franz Anton Hoffmeister illuminates several stylistic trends of the period and, as much now as it did in its own day, provides pleasant cocktail-party listening. The word "notturno" in the late eighteenth century simply meant a work suited to performance in the evening; it might just as easily be called a divertimento or serenade. Hoffmeister's pieces are in either three (fast-slow-fast) or five (with second- and fourth-movement minuets) movements, both common enough patterns, and both less rigorous than those found in works called quartets or quintets. The instrumental combinations here may seem odd, but they're actually typical of the variety of the period. Three notturni are for oboe, violin, two violas, and bassoon, while two others are for the more curious but still...
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