Mozart's Gran Partita in B flat major, K. 361, marked the apotheosis of the Classical-era wind band serenade tradition. Where the form usually called for a small group, Mozart responded with a lengthy work for 13 instruments. The Gran Partita at once combines the requisite elegance of such works with an almost modern systematic rigor, seemingly exploring the sonorities possible in B flat major and ending with a set of variations that has, in the hands of oboist-director Alexei Ogrintchouk and members of the ...
Read More
Mozart's Gran Partita in B flat major, K. 361, marked the apotheosis of the Classical-era wind band serenade tradition. Where the form usually called for a small group, Mozart responded with a lengthy work for 13 instruments. The Gran Partita at once combines the requisite elegance of such works with an almost modern systematic rigor, seemingly exploring the sonorities possible in B flat major and ending with a set of variations that has, in the hands of oboist-director Alexei Ogrintchouk and members of the Concertgebouworkest of Amsterdam, the effect of a jewel casting light in a hundred different directions. The Gran Partita has been getting a lot of attention from both modern-instrument players and historically oriented performers, and buyers and listeners have plenty of choices to sample and hold. However, this one, in its sheer degree of control, is going to be a foremost choice for years to come. It's all the more impressive in that the ensemble is not a standing group, and Ogrintchouk, as...
Read Less
