Ravinia 2026 Issue 3

MARTINTHEATRE 7:30 PMWEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5 , 2026 DANISH STRING QUARTET FREDERIKØLAND, violin RUNE TONSGAARD SØRENSEN, violin ASBJØRN NØRGAARD, viola FREDRIKSCHØYEN SJÖLIN, cello MOZART Divertimento in F major, . ( c) Allegro Andante Presto SHOSTAKOVICH String Quartet No. in F major, op. Allegretto Moderato con moto Allegro non troppo Adagio [ attacca ] Moderato—Adagio – – BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. in F major, op. Allegretto Vivace Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo Grave ma non troppo tratto—Allegro WOLFGANGAMADEUSMOZART (1756–1791) Divertimento in F major, . ( c) e th-century divertimento, a piece of light music with three to eight movements, func- tioned as background music at social gather- ings. Diverse combinations of wind, brass, string, and keyboard instruments (with an oc- casional voice) were regularly featured within the genre. Originating in Italy, the popularity of the divertimento quickly spread northward to Germany and Austria, the centers of Classi- cal instrumental composition. Heinrich Chris- toph Koch, in his monumental musical dictio- nary of , asserted that the divertimento, a less fully developed composition than the so- nata, was performed, in Germanic countries at least, one instrument per part. Judged by this criterion, the divertimentos scored for four strings—two violins, viola, and “basso”—are pieces of chamber music, namely string quar- tets. In fact, Haydn called his rst ve sets of published string quartets (opp. , , , , and ) “divertimentos.” An early set of three divertimentos by Mozart ( . – ) nevertheless re ect the Italian mu- sical traditions. Between December , , and March , , the prodigious youth traveled with his father throughout Italy, absorbing the lo- cal styles and demonstrating his newly acquired mastery in operatic and instrumental composi- tions. e lyrical, violin-dominated writing of Giovanni Battista Sammartini, whom Mozart met in Milan, proved especially in uential. Pre- sumably, Mozart began his rst string diverti- mento in Milan, then nished the set in Salzburg. South of the Alps, the term “divertimento” was inconsistently applied to both chamber and or- chestral works, the “basso” part being entrusted to cellos and double basses. e Divertimento in F major, . ( c), opens with theatrical air—a loud, rising arpeggio, played in octaves, Portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, attributed to Giambettino Cignaroli (1770) RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 71