New York Philharmonic. Louis Langree, Conductor. January 2, 2026.

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.  First Tier (Seat BB1, $25).

At the conclusion of the concert.

Program

Serenade for Wind Instruments in E-flat major, Op. 7 (1881) by R. Strauss (1864-1949).

Serenade No. 10 in B-flat major, Gran partita, K. 361/370a (1783-84) by Mozart (1756-91).

Both pieces on this evening's program used a wind ensemble.  The Mozart piece calls for a bass that most musicologists believe is of the "stringed" kind, and for two basset horns - which looked like clarinets to me.

The piece by Strauss was written when the composer was 17.  Per the Program Notes, Strauss's arc as a composer started with this work scored for 13 instruments; and this work earned him wide attention, including that of the famed pianist/conductor Hans von Bulow.  (As a side remark, von Bulow had been closely allied with  until Wagner seduced and married Cosima, von Bulow's wife.  No wonder he was looking for new associates.)

Strauss himself characterized the work as "respectable for a music student;" most listeners would think grander descriptions are warranted.  The Program Notes contains a description of the work which one could follow, somewhat successfully in my case.

After the short (10-minute) piece by Strauss.

No matter what "gran partita" conjured up in my mind, it certainly wasn't a collection of 12 wind instruments plus a double bass.  Partita and serenade were used somewhat interchangeably in Mozart's day, and the word "gran" was addition by someone other than Mozart (different handwriting).  I am assuming "gran" means "grand," which may be a right adjective in Mozart's day, but even Strauss may call that a petit serenade, given how large ensembles had become by his time.

Dating when Mozart's pieces must be a popular area of pursuit for musicologists.  In addition to when the word "gran" was added to the title, there was also a discussion on how it was eventually determined that the piece was completed in 1784, rather than the riginal date of 1780 when von Kochel first catalogued Mozart's works.  Even the type of paper used was used to do the date alignment.

While the Program Notes refers to the popularity of the piece,  tonight was the first time I heard it since I started this blog.  The serenade has six movements, and it was easy enough to follow the tempo markings provided in the Program Notes.

With a small ensemble of very high caliber musicians, one wonders if a conductor was necessary for the two pieces on the program.  It was good to see Langree enjoying himself on stage though.  (He didn't use a podium.)

This concert was reasonably well-attended.  While the low cost of tickets helped, it was still a good thing that people showed up early in the year.  The concert was also short, lasting less than an hour.

After the 2 pm concert Anne and I had a late lunch at Dim Sum Palace.  She returned to South Amboy afterwards, I stayed behind to catch this concert.