A little festive music

With Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, as you've never heard it before.

In the second half of the 18th century, music for celebrations, banquets, outdoor events, and cafés became very popular and was often called "nachtmusik" or "serenade music." Its sole purpose was to entertain and delight.

Composers went to great lengths to impress the nobility and influential figures who often attended these occasions – perhaps there would be opportunities for commissions for further works! As a result, there is a wealth of fun, strange, captivating, graceful, varied, and often astonishing virtuoso music of this kind – which, moreover, often pushes musicians to the limits of their abilities.

Mozart and Haydn are great ambassadors for the genre, but there are also plenty of talented but lesser-known composers who specialized in this form of entertainment. This program presents some of them—such as Joseph Haydn's underrated brother Michael, Mozart's favorite Mysliveček, and the eccentric and exciting Družecký.

Since the dawn of time, people have sought pleasure and entertainment. "Eine Kleine Festmusik" appeals to this timeless urge—the chatter, gossip, fun, drinking, and flirting—just like today. And music was—as it is now—a necessity for creating the right atmosphere!