Mozart's Serenade in D major, K. 250, was composed as background music for a wedding. Lasting upwards of 50 minutes in performance, it can be an unwieldy work that has dragged even in the hands of some very famous interpreters. This 2022 release from the
Festival Strings Lucerne is one of the most attractive available. Its first advantage is the presence of violinist
Daniel Dodds as both violinist and director, a configuration that would likely have been present in
Mozart's time. The whole work rests on a constant sequence of elegant little turns of phrase, and
Dodds gives these room. Other strong points are the inclusion of the March in D major, K. 249, which was likely intended as a processional and recessional for the same wedding, and of a dance excerpt from Vincenzo Righini's Gerusalemme liberata that receives its world premiere here; it is not directly connected to the
Mozart, but it is nicely linked to it in mood. Beyond all these specifics is
Dodds' evident sense of sympathy for the
Mozart work; written in 1776, it marked the moment when the composer's lyrical gift spilled out in profusion, and this is simply a performance that has the Mozartian spirit. The sound from the KKL Luzern concert hall offers a reasonable facsimile of the Serenade's original spacious surroundings, and there is just nothing here that is not extremely bewitching. ~ James Manheim