Mozart's delightful Serenade for 13 Winds in B-flat major, K. 361 "Gran Partita"
Glenn Gould was famous for his Bach, but some people remember him best for trash-talking Mozart. Even though he recorded most of Mozart's Piano Sonatas, and really loved a few of them, he also went on record as saying he thought many were fairly inane. What? Yep . He was too predictable as a composer, especially in his late works. He stayed in one key too long and had the performers just play scales up and down their instruments. Although he was by all reports a great musician and improviser, his compositions often ended up being nothing but "cute". Yes and no. I'd like to present you one of the pieces that isn't only cute; it's also brilliant! Mozart wrote this Serenade both in Munich and Vienna. And if you know those two cities, how could you expect anything less than a masterpiece to have been born there? He was in his prime at 26 and this piece hour-long piece really gives the listeners - and the lucky performers - their due. I first became aware of thi...