The Sound Board

In the days before it was possible to record music and then distribute it on vinyl or digitally, in short: before the 20th century and the arrival of mass media, many pieces of music — symphonies and (popular tunes from) operas especially — were often transcribed for piano and/or small ensembles so that they could be enjoyed in the home. The ouverture and several arias from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”, for example, were, at the time, transcribed for string quartet by an anonymous contemporary of Mozart. This transcription — which, if you’re interested, was recorded in its entirety by the Quatuor Zaïde and released on the NoMadMusic label — has, in turn, been transcribed/adapted again, this time by Pekka Kuusisto, violinist and artistic director of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, for chamber strings. Lots to enjoy here — not in the least the magical sound of a well-oiled chamber strings orchestra — even if much (many people would say: most) of what makes a Mozart opera a Mozart opera is nowhere to be seen or heard.




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Well, Wolfie himself never heard his music played by anything larger than a chamber orchestra as the modern symphony orchestra paradigm didn’t come along until later, so it’s fair to assume he composed with that size orchestra in mind.