There is an air of mystery about Mozart’s Serenade no.10, K361: the date, place and occasion of its composition are uncertain, as is the identity of the one who gave it the nickname ‘Gran Partita’. Recent scholarship dates it to Mozart’s early Viennese period, around 1783–4.

Articulated in seven movements, the work belongs to the genre of Harmoniemusik: entertainment music that was in vogue in the second half of the 18th century named for the courtly wind ensemble of pairs of woodwinds plus horns, called Harmonie or Harmonieorchester in German-speaking countries.

The genre featured a few characteristic forms – the Serenades, the Divertimenti, and the Cassations – which could be performed outdoors (due to the instruments’ power of projection) and featured numerous movements like the older dance suites or partitas as opposed to the usual four of symphonies. Serenade no.10 is a special case, however: the instrumentation is enriched by a pair of alto clarinets (basset horns), the number of horns is doubled to two in F and two in low B-flat, and unusually a double bass joins the bassoons creating a more ‘symphonic’ character.

The work’s third movement, an Adagio, is one of the acknowledged masterpieces of Mozart’s art. It is well known to the general public for its inclusion in an unforgettable scene in the film Amadeus where, quoting the beginning of the Adagio, an elderly Antonio Salieri believes he recognises ‘the voice of God’ in the entrances of the oboe and clarinet.