The multi-movement serenades of Mozart were often intended for outdoor performances on festive occasions. The “Haffner Serenade” was written for the wedding celebration of Elisabeth Haffner, daughter of the Mayor of Salzburg. It was premiered in 1776, when the composer was just twenty years old. A few years later, the Haffner family would commission a second round of party music; this ultimately became Mozart’s “Haffner” Symphony No. 35.

Described by critic Richard Bratby as “better music than it has any right to be,” this serenade is distinctive in that embedded within the orchestral composition is a nearly full-fledged concerto for the violin, comprising movements two through four (Mozart himself was likely the original soloist). It is certainly one of the most mature and vibrant works from the composer’s Salzburg years, and it seems clear that he was writing to entertain and impress the hometown crowd.

This afternoon, the HSO invites you to enjoy the thrill of sitting right inside the orchestra as we recreate this marvelous Mozart in the rustic Carriage House of the Huntsville Botanical Gardens.

W O L F G A N G A M A D E U S M O Z A R T ( 1 7 5 6 – 1 7 9 1 )

S E R E N A D E N O . 7 I N D M A J O R , “ H A F F N E R , ” K. 250I. Allegro maestoso—Allegro moltoII. AndanteIII. MenuettoIV. Rondeau: Allegro V. Menuetto galante VI. AndanteVII. MenuettoVIII. Adagio—Allegro assai

Amy Schwartz Moretti, violin [ca. 55’]

S E R E N A D E F O R O R C H E S T R A A N D A U D I E N C E

Sunday, March 18, 2018 • 3:30 p.m. • The Carriage House • Huntsville Botanical Gardens

Amy Schwartz Moretti, violinGregory Vajda, Music Director and Conductor • Huntsville Symphony Orchestra

C O N C E R T S P O N S O RJane E. Hays

44 • HSO SEASON 63 • SPRING

H S O S E A S O N 6 2 | S P R I N G | 7 9

Red Horse RidgeA full service equine boarding and training facility• Fully enclosed 80’x220’ indoor arena• Lighted outdoor dressage arena• Acreage and trails for hacking out

Jane Hays Bossmare707@gmail.com

256.337.5263Dressage training provided by: Debbie Hill Dressage

G U E S T A R T I S T

A M Y S C H WA R T Z M O R E T T IV I O L I N

• Solo performances with Macon, Omaha, Raleigh, Richmond, and Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestras; former Concertmaster, Florida and Oregon Symphony Orchestras

• Solo and chamber appearances at Carnegie Hall, Musée du Louvre, Palazzo Barberini, and Severance Hall

• Recordings for Chandos, Harmonia Mundi, Onyx Classics, and Sono Luminus

• Faculty, Mercer University Townsend School of Music (McDuffie Center for Strings)

HSO SEASON 63 • SPRING • 45