About the Music

We thank Dr. David Cook for sharing this program note about his transcription of Mozart's Serenade in C Major, K. 648, for clarinet trio:

Discovered in the Leipzig municipal libraries in September 2024, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart likely composed his Serenade in C Major, called “Ganz Kleine Nachtmusik” for string trio in the mid- to late 1760s. Researchers believe the music discovered in Leipzig is not an original manuscript, but instead a copy produced around 1780. The title, prescribed by the municipal library and translating roughly as “Very Little Night Music, is an obvious reference to Mozart’s K. 525 “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.”

Mozart casts the first movement using pre-Classical sonata principles in which only the secondary theme returns in the movement’s home key of C major. He begins the following Allegro with nearly the same chord he concludes the Marche with, seemingly linking the two movements together beyond their shared early sonata principles. The third movement is a simple minuet and trio (with the trio set in the subdominant), while the Polonese is similarly concise in its simple ternary form. The Adagio is the only movement which Mozart begins in a key other than C major, with hints of what Mozart would later write in the Gran Partita. A second minuet and trio follows (with its homophonic beginning calling to mind the second movement of the Serenade No. 11 in E-flat Major) before giving way to a charmingly brief Allegro that concludes the piece.

This transcription can be performed by a trio of two clarinets and bass clarinet, two clarinets and bassoon (the most common modern instrumentation to perform Mozart’s divertimenti originally scored for three basset horns), or three clarinets. All of these parts are provided. The score reflects the version for two clarinets and bass clarinet.

Score: 15 pages; parts: 4 pages each. Extended-range instrument NOT required for bass clarinet part.

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About the Arranger

Critically praised for “brilliant and stunning” performances, “terrific virtuosic playing,” and “a fine sense of drama,” David Cook is Associate Professor of Clarinet and Chair of Instrumental Performance Studies at Millikin University, Principal Clarinet of the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, and clarinetist for the Appian Duo (with Emily Grabinski, piano) and the Greyline Duo (with Alexandra Rodriguez, flute). Previously a member of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, the Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lieurance Woodwind Quintet, and the wind quintet Fiati Five, David has also performed with the Chicago Sinfonietta, Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia da Camera, Northbrook Symphony Orchestra, Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, Heartland Festival Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Norman Philharmonic, and the Texas Music Festival Orchestra. As a chamber musician, David has performed at Chamber Music Campania, with the Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble, and with the From the Edge Chamber Music Series.

David has been recognized in numerous competitions including The American Prize for Instrumental Performance, the American Virtuoso International Music Competition, the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artist Competition, the Oklahoma Community Orchestra Young Artist Competition, and the White Lake Chamber Music Festival Solo Competition. Past appearances include the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest®, the College Music Society National Conference, the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors Conference, the Midwest Clinic, the American Single Reed Summit, the Amicitia Clarinet Extravaganza, the Clarinet Colloquium at Texas A&M University-Commerce, the KNOB New Music Festival, and recitals across the United States and abroad. In 2022, David’s book Clarinet Conditioning: Warm-Ups and Perspectives, featuring contributions from clarinetists including members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, was published by Conway Publications. His research appears in Clarinet, NACWPI Journal, and Instrumentalist.

David holds Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees from Central Michigan University, Master of Music degrees in clarinet performance and chamber music from the University of Michigan, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in clarinet performance and the Master of Music degree in music theory from the University of Oklahoma. His principal teachers include Suzanne Tirk, Chad Burrow, Theodore Oien, and Kennen White. David is a Buffet Crampon USA Performing Artist and a member of the Silverstein Works PRO Team, performing exclusively on Buffet Crampon clarinets and Silverstein Works ligatures.