Besides an acclaimed series of recordings with Ronald Brautigam of the complete piano concertos by Mozart, Mendelssohn and Beethoven, Kölner Akademie and Michael Alexander Willens are undertaking a survey of Mozart’s serenades and other incidental works. Their first album in this series included the Posthorn Serenade and demonstrated, according to the reviewer on MusicWeb-International, that the ensemble is ‘amongst the best groups in the world of period performance.’ Since then the team has recorded works associated with the Freemasons, and here takes on one of the most famous of the serenades, the ‘Haffner’, named after Sigmund Haffner, who commissioned it for the festivities surrounding his sister’s wedding in 1776. A notable feature of Mozart’s serenades – and the large-scale Haffner is no exception – is the incorporation of virtuosic solo parts, here performed by the violinist Alexander Janiczek. On the amply-filled disc (almost 86 minutes!), the at times quite imposing Haffner is followed by Mozart’s ‘Musical Joke’ – Ein musikalischer Spaß, K?522. A work in four movements, this is a delightful and very skillfully crafted parody of musical incompetence. It is written for strings and a pair of horns, and its frequent caricatures of the second-rate – whether in composition or performance – are brilliantly observed, by Mozart as well as the present performers.
Tracklist:
01. March in D Major, K. 249 “Haffner” (4:05)
02. Serenade No. 7 in D Major, K. 250 “Haffner”: I. Serenata (9:46)
03. Serenade No. 7 in D Major, K. 250 “Haffner”: II. Andante (8:33)
04. Serenade No. 7 in D Major, K. 250 “Haffner”: III. Menuetto – Trio (4:02)
05. Serenade No. 7 in D Major, K. 250 “Haffner”: IV. Rondeau (8:58)
06. Serenade No. 7 in D Major, K. 250 “Haffner”: V. Menuetto galante – Trio (5:46)
07. Serenade No. 7 in D Major, K. 250 “Haffner”: VI. Andante (7:14)
08. Serenade No. 7 in D Major, K. 250 “Haffner”: VII. Menuetto (5:07)
09. Serenade No. 7 in D Major, K. 250 “Haffner”: VIII. Adagio – Allegro assai (11:10)
10. Ein musikalischer Spaß, K. 522: I. Allegro (4:33)
11. Ein musikalischer Spaß, K. 522: II. Menuetto (6:21)
12. Ein musikalischer Spaß, K. 522: III. Andante cantabile (5:29)
13. Ein musikalischer Spaß, K. 522: IV. Presto (4:46)
![Die Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens - Telemann: Gelobet sei der Herr, TWV 1:602/1216 & Bequemliches Leben, gemächlicher Stand, TWV 1:123 (2022) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2022/08/11/r19bsw2obt5yb_600.jpg "Die Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens - Telemann: Gelobet sei der Herr, TWV 1:602/1216 & Bequemliches Leben, gemächlicher Stand, TWV 1:123 (2022) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]")
![Beate Mordal, Elvira Bill, Georg Poplutz, Matthias Vieweg, Andrey Akhmetov, Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens - Wolf: Christmas Cantatas (2022) [FLAC 24bit/48kHz]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2023/01/24/f9ylh48z2x6ub_600.jpg "Beate Mordal, Elvira Bill, Georg Poplutz, Matthias Vieweg, Andrey Akhmetov, Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens - Wolf: Christmas Cantatas (2022) [FLAC 24bit/48kHz]")
![Elena Harsanyi, Elvira Bill, Mirko Ludwig, Andreas Wolf, Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens - Two Passion Oratorios (2022) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2022/07/04/r4qhgkl38mivb_600.jpg "Elena Harsanyi, Elvira Bill, Mirko Ludwig, Andreas Wolf, Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens - Two Passion Oratorios (2022) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]")
![Michael Alexander Willens - Lukas-Passion (2023) [FLAC 24bit/48kHz]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2023/05/25/ujp7s29asdplb_600.jpg "Michael Alexander Willens - Lukas-Passion (2023) [FLAC 24bit/48kHz]")
![Ronald Brautigam, Die Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens - Wilms: The Piano Concertos, Vol. 2 (2022) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2022/12/18/vrcz5hllk0g2b_600.jpg "Ronald Brautigam, Die Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens - Wilms: The Piano Concertos, Vol. 2 (2022) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]")
![Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens - Mozart: Overtures (2023) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2024/01/21/ieatiuakpaxua_600.jpg "Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens - Mozart: Overtures (2023) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]")
![Ronald Brautigam, Die Kolner Akademie & Michael Alexander Willens - Beethoven: Piano Concertos (2019) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]](https://getimg.link/images/imgimgimg/uploads/2020/04/2giUjz5.jpg "Ronald Brautigam, Die Kolner Akademie & Michael Alexander Willens - Beethoven: Piano Concertos (2019) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]")
![Tobias Koch, Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens - Emilie Mayer: Piano Concerto · Overtures (2023) [FLAC 24bit/48kHz]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2023/08/23/tm002rr0lyqla_600.jpg "Tobias Koch, Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens - Emilie Mayer: Piano Concerto · Overtures (2023) [FLAC 24bit/48kHz]")