What might have occasioned Mozart to rework his original Serenade for sextet into a version for octet (with two oboes) only a few months after he had completed it? Was there an ôexternalö cause? Once Joseph II had founded an ôimperial wind ensembleö in April 1782, octet music was in great demand. The ensemble with two oboes, two clarinets, two horns and two bassoons had to play on all manner of occasions. As we can gather from one of MozartÆs letters, he therefore conjured up a ôNight Musiqueö within a very short period of time. It is very probable that it was this arrangement.
Mozart: Serenade in E flat major K. 375 for 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Horns and 2 Bassoons (with parts