Mozart’s Flute Quartet No. 1 is a bright, flirtatious work that opens with a famous melody. The Adagio finds the flute singing a dusky song over pizzicato strings, before the lively finale with its playful exchanges between flute and violin. During the second half of the 18th century, serenades and divertimentos represented the favourite pop music of the aristocracy and middle class and Beethoven’s Septet in E-flat sums up this frothiest of musical entertainments. Much to Beethoven’s chagrin, its relentless popularity tended to eclipse some of his greater achievements. He ranted and railed when the work continued to overshadow his truly great masterpieces until his dying day. However, the numerous reincarnations of the Septet bear eloquent witness to the work’s hit-parade status among amateur musicians of the time.
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