Eine kleine Nachtmusik

Eine kleine Nachtmusik, serenade for two violins, viola, cello, and double bass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, admired for its lively, joyful quality and its memorable melodies. The piece was completed on August 10, 1787, but was published posthumously. In present-day practice, it is typically performed in orchestral arrangement.

Although it originally denoted an evening song for courtship, the term serenade by the late 18th century was used broadly to describe a chamber work intended for light entertainment on a social occasion. Serenades enjoyed great popularity in south-central Europe, particularly in Vienna, where Mozart spent the last decade of his life. At that time, it was customary for ensembles to perform serenades in Vienna’s parks and gardens, and the creation of such pieces became a lucrative source of income for composers.

Mozart produced many serenades, the 13th of which, nicknamed Eine kleine Nachtmusik, is his best known. The four-movement work opens with a bright allegro in sonata form, and a slow, lyrical second movement follows. The third movement is a light minuet, and the finale is a brisk rondo. Originally, the piece contained a second minuet, but that movement has been lost. The specific occasion, if any, for which Eine kleine Nachtmusik was composed has never been determined.

Regardless of its original performance context, Eine kleine Nachtmusik became one of Mozart’s most popular pieces. In the late 20th century, it figured prominently in the Academy Award-winning biopic Amadeus (1984) as the character of Italian composer Antonio Salieri (Mozart’s nemesis in the film but not in real life) lamented that he himself had not created the widely admired work, as it became far more familiar than Salieri’s own works. In the 21st century, Eine kleine Nachtmusik remained among the most frequently performed and iconic of all classical compositions.