SCO Winds - Mozart: Divertimenti - The Irish Times

In October 1781, to impress Joseph von Strack, a gentleman of the emperor's bedchamber, Mozart composed his Serenade in E flat for the deliciously pungent combination of two clarinets, two horns and two bassoons. And at 11pm on October 31st, von Strack was treated to a surprise performance outside his Vienna lodgings.

There's a bracing, full-on quality in the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Wind Soloists' new account which suggests a constant awareness that wind music of this type was often played in the open air. The four divertimentos (originally for a sextet with two oboes, here replaced by clarinets) are altogether lighter but still have the special appeal that attaches to Mozart's wind writing.