Eine kleine Nachtmusik (I. Allegro) – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Piano

Description Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation Main pageContentsCurrent eventsRandom articleAbout WikipediaContact us Contribute HelpLearn to editCommunity portalRecent changesUpload fileSpecial pages Search Search Appearance Donate Create account Log in Personal tools Donate Create account Log in Contents move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 Background 2 Music Toggle Music subsection 2.1 I. Allegro 2.2 II. Romance: Andante 2.3 III. Menuetto: Allegretto 2.4 IV. Rondo: Allegro 3 Possible extra movement 4 Modern reception 5 See also 6 Notes and references 7 Further reading 8 External links Toggle the table of contents 38 languages CatalàČeštinaDanskDeutschΕλληνικάEsperantoEspañolEestiEuskaraفارسیSuomiFrançaisעבריתHrvatskiMagyarBahasa IndonesiaÍslenskaItaliano日本語한국어LatinaLietuviųLatviešuNederlandsNorsk nynorskNorsk bokmålPolskiPortuguêsRomânăРусскийSimple EnglishСрпски / srpskiSvenskaไทยTürkçeУкраїнськаTiếng Việt中文 Edit links ArticleTalk English ReadView history Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions ReadView history General What links hereRelated changesUpload filePermanent linkPage informationCite this pageGet shortened URL Print/export Download as PDFPrintable version In other projects Wikimedia CommonsWikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide 1787 composition by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Eine kleine Nachtmusik[a] (Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major), K. 525, is a 1787 composition for a chamber ensemble by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). The German title means "a little night music"[b] and it is one of the most famous pieces of classical music. The reasoning behind this piece is unknown. The extant piece contains four movements: Allegro, Romance, Menuetto, and Finale. However, another movement is now believed to be lost. Background The serenade was completed in Vienna on 10 August 1787,[3] around the time when Mozart was working on the second act of his opera Don Giovanni.[4] It is not known why he composed it, nor is it known whether it was performed in his lifetime.[5] Wolfgang Hildesheimer, noting that most of Mozart's serenades were written on commission, suggests that this was a commission whose origin and first performance were not recorded.[6] The traditionally used name of the work comes from the entry Mozart made for it in his personal catalogue, which begins Eine kleine Nacht-Musick.[c] Zaslaw and Cowdery point out that Mozart was probably not giving the piece a special title but only entering in his records that he had completed a little serenade.[7] The work was not published until about 1827, long after Mozart's death, by Johann André in Offenbach am Main.[3] Mozart's widow Constanze sold it to the publisher as part of a large bundle of her husband's compositions. Music The serenade is written for an ensemble of two violins, viola, cello, and double bass, but it is often performed by string orchestras.[3] The work has four movements: Allegro (G major)Romance: Andante (C major)Menuetto: Allegretto (G major, with trio in D major)Finale: Rondo Allegro (G major) I. Allegro I. Allegro Performed by the Advent Chamber Orchestra Problems playing this file? See media help. This first movement is in sonata-allegro form.[8] It opens with a theme of an ascending Mannheim rocket. The second theme is more graceful and in D major, the dominant key of G major. The exposition closes in D major and is repeated. The development section begins in D major and touches on D minor and C major before the work returns to G major for the recapitulation. Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file. Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file. II. Romance: Andante II. Andante The second movement, with the tempo marked Andante, is a Romance in C major, the subdominant key of G major, and was originally the third movement out of five.[9] It is in rondo form, taking the shape A–B–A–C–A plus a final coda. The keys of the sections are C major for A and B, C minor for C. The middle appearance of A is truncated, consisting of only the first half of the theme. Daniel Heartz describes the movement as evoking a gavotte rhythm: each of its sections begins in the middle of the measure, with a double upbeat.[10] Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file. III. Menuetto: Allegretto III. Menuetto The third movement, marked Allegretto, is a minuet and trio,[8] both in 34 time. The minuet is in the home key of G major; the contrasting trio is in D major, the dominant key of G major. As is normal in this form, the minuet is played again da capo following the trio. Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file. Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file. IV. Rondo: Allegro IV. Allegro Synthesized version The fourth and last movement is in lively tempo, marked Allegro; the key is again G major, and the movement is written in sonata form. Mozart specifies repeats not just for the exposition section but also for the following development and recapitulation sections. The recapitulation's first theme is unusual because only its last two bars return, and in the parallel minor. A coda ends the piece. Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file. Possible extra movement In the catalogue entry mentioned above, Mozart listed the work as having five movements ("Allegro – Minuet and Trio – Romance – Minuet and Trio – Finale.").[7] The second movement in his listing — a minuet and trio — was long thought lost, and musicologist Alfred Einstein does not not know who removed it.[11] In his 1984 recording, Christopher Hogwood used a minuet of Thomas Attwood (found in his sketchbooks used while he took lessons from Mozart) and an additional newly composed trio to substitute the missing movement.[citation needed] Einstein suggested, however, that a minuet in the Piano Sonata in B♭ major, K. 498a, is the missing movement.[11] K. 498a, which is credited to the composer August Eberhard Müller,[12] incorporates significant amounts of Mozart's work in the form of reworkings of material from the piano concertos K. 450, K. 456, and K. 595, leading Einstein to suggest that the minuet in Müller's sonata might be an arrangement of the missing movement from Eine kleine Nachtmusik,[citation needed] however, the evidence for this is limited.[13] In 1971, this movement was incorporated into a recording of the work prepared by the musicologist and performer Thurston Dart.[14] In 1989, the minuet and trio of K. 498a was again recorded as part of an arrangement of Eine kleine Nachtmusik made by Jonathan Del Mar for Nimbus Records.[15] Modern reception Today, the serenade is widely performed and recorded. Hildesheimer suggests that it is the most popular of all Mozart's works,[6] writing: "even if we hear it on every street corner, its high quality is undisputed, an occasional piece from a light but happy pen."[6] This piece has been featured in studies about the impact of music on fish[16] and humans.[17] Britannica has referred to it as "among the most frequently performed and iconic of all classical compositions."[8] See also Ganz kleine Nachtmusik: An earlier, shorter Mozart piece given a similar name A Little Night Music: A Stephen Sondheim musical named after the composition Parodies by Peter Schickele: Eine kleine Nichtmusik A Little Nightmare Music Notes and references Notes ^ German pronunciation: [ˈaɪnə . ^ See "Nachtmusik"[1] and "Notturno"[2] entries in Grove Music Online. ^ The full entry reads (in German): Den 10-ten August. Eine kleine Nachtmusick, bestehend in einem Allegro, Menuett und Trio. – Romance. Menuett und Trio, und Finale. – 2 Violini, Viola e Bassi.; "On the 10th of August. A little serenade, consisting of an allegro, a minuet and trio, a romance, [another] minuet and trio, and a finale. For two violins, viola, and bass instruments." Mozart's incipit (quotation for identification purposes) consists of the first two bars of the first movement. The catalogue is posted at the web site Archived 19 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine of the British Library. References ^ Unverricht & Eisen 2001a. ^ Unverricht & Eisen 2001b. ^ a b c Holoman 1992, p. 397. ^ Holoman 1992, p. 398. ^ Rexroth 2017, p. III. ^ a b c Hildesheimer 1991, p. 215. ^ a b Zaslaw & Cowdery 1991, p. 250. ^ a b c Schwarm. ^ Manze 2003. ^ Heartz 2009, p. 185. ^ a b Einstein 1962, p. 207 ^ Giegling & Rehm 1996, pp. b/99f. ^ Broder 1956. ^ Dart 1971. ^ Goodman. ^ Papoutsoglou et al. 2015. ^ Smith & Joyce 2004. Sources Broder, Nathan (June 1956). "Eine kleine Nachtmusik, 1787. Faksimile der Original-Handschrift by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Manfred Gorke". Notes (review). 13 (3): 514. doi:10.2307/893344. JSTOR 893344. Dart, Thurston (1971). Chamber Music by Mozart at Discogs (list of releases). Einstein, Alfred (1962). Mozart, His Character, His Work. Translated by Arthur Mendel, Nathan Broder. Oxford: Oxford University Press. OCLC 511324. Giegling, Franz [in German]; Rehm, Wolfgang (1996). Neue Mozart-Ausgabe, Kritischer Bericht (in German). Vol. X/29/2. Goodman, Roy. "Mozart, Eine kleine Nachtmusic". Nimbus Records. NI7023. Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Heartz, Daniel (2009). Mozart, Haydn and Early Beethoven, 1781–1802. New York: W. W. Norton. Hildesheimer, Wolfgang (1991). Mozart [de]. Translated by Marion Faber. Macmillan. ISBN 0-374-52298-7. Holoman, D. Kern (1992). Evenings with the Orchestra: A Norton Companion for Concertgoers. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-02936-0. Manze, Andrew (2003). Mozart Night Music (PDF). The English Concert. Harmonia Mundi. HMU 807280. Retrieved 15 November 2025 – via nativedsd.com. Papoutsoglou, Sofronios E.; Karakatsouli, Nafsika; Psarrou, Anna; Apostolidou, Sofia; Papoutsoglou, Eustratios S.; Batzina, Alkisti; Leondaritis, Georgios; Sakellaridis, N. (February 2015). "Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) response to three music stimuli (Mozart—"Eine kleine Nachtmusik", Anonymous—"Romanza", Bach—"Violin Concerto No. 1") and white noise under recirculating water conditions". Fish Physiology and Biochemistry. 41: 219–232. doi:10.1007/s10695-014-0018-5. ISSN 0920-1742. Rexroth, Dieter (2017). "Preface". Eine kleine Nachtmusik: Serenade G major, K. 525. Eulenburg. ISBN 9783795713454. Retrieved 15 November 2025. Schwarm, Betsy. "Eine kleine Nachtmusik". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 15 November 2025. Smith, J. C.; Joyce, C. A. (September 2004). "Mozart versus New Age Music: Relaxation States, Stress, and ABC Relaxation Theory". Journal of Music Therapy. 41 (3): 215–224. doi:10.1093/jmt/41.3.215. ISSN 0022-2917. PMID 15327344. Unverricht, Hubert; Eisen, Cliff (2001a). "Nachtmusik (Ger.: 'night music')". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.19524. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription, Wikilibrary access, or UK public library membership required) Unverricht, Hubert; Eisen, Cliff (2001b). "Notturno (It.: 'nocturnal')". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.20135. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription, Wikilibrary access, or UK public library membership required) Zaslaw, Neal; Cowdery, William (1991). The Compleat Mozart: A Guide to the Musical Works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Norton. ISBN 0-393-02886-0. Further reading Kamien, Roger (August 1982). "The Menuetto from Mozart's 'Eine kleine Nachtmusik', K. 525: An analytical study". Theory and Practice. 7 (1): 3–19. ISSN 0741-6156. JSTOR 41330380. Webster, James (2001). "Sonata form". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.26197. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription, Wikilibrary access, or UK public library membership required) External links Serenade in G. Eine kleine Nachtmusik, KV 525: Score and critical report (in German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe Eine kleine Nachtmusik: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Performance of Eine kleine Nachtmusik by A Far Cry from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format Serenades by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart No. 1 in D, K. 100 No. 4 in D, K. 203 ("Colloredo") No. 5 in D, K. 204 No. 6 in D, K. 239 ("Serenata Notturna") No. 7 in D, K. 250 ("Haffner") No. 9 in D, K. 320 ("Posthorn") No. 10 in B♭, K. 361 ("Gran Partita") No. 11 in E♭, K. 375 (no number) in D, K. 385 (converted into "Haffner Symphony") No. 12 in C minor, K. 388 No. 13 in G, K. 525 ("Eine kleine Nachtmusik") List of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus MozartBiography Biographies Birthplace Grand tour Name Nationality Residence Scatology Smallpox Italy Berlin Prague Appearance and character Pet starling Death Music Concert arias, songs, canons Dances Horn concertos Masses Operas Piano concertos Works for solo piano Sonatas Symphonies Violin concertos Compositional method Relationship with G minor Catalogues and editions Personal catalogue Köchel catalogue Alte Mozart-Ausgabe Neue Mozart-Ausgabe Family Constanze Mozart (wife) Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart (son) Karl Thomas Mozart (son) Leopold Mozart (father) Anna Maria Mozart (mother) Maria Anna Mozart (Nannerl) (sister) Johann Georg Mozart (paternal grandfather) Franz Mozart (paternal great-grandfather) Influences Beethoven Catholic Church Freemasonry Haydn Salieri Related Georg Nissen Portraits (family portrait) In popular culture Beethoven–Haydn–Mozart Memorial Bertramka Mozart effect Mozart Monument, Vienna Category Portal: Classical music Authority control databases InternationalVIAFGNDNationalUnited StatesFranceBnF dataSpainIsraelCataloniaOtherMusicBrainz work source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eine_kleine_Nachtmusik#I._Allegro Search Search Toggle the table of contents Eine kleine Nachtmusik 38 languages Add topic