#ClassicsaDay #Divertimento Week 2
By Ralph Graves
The Classics a Day team decided to lighten up a little. Webster’s Dictionary defines a divertimento as “an instrumental chamber work in several movements usually light in character.”
For October, the challenge is to post videos of divertimentos written by classical composers.
I quickly discovered that every composer had a different idea of what “light in character” meant. The only thing any of these selections have in common is the title: divertimento. Here are my selections for the second week of the #ClassicsaDay challenge, #Divertimento.
10/07/24 Michael Haydn: Divertimento in D major for Horn, Viola, and Contrabass
Michael was Franz Joseph’s younger brother and an accomplished composer in his own right. He wrote over 20 divertimenti for various instruments.
10/08/24 Niccolo Paganini: Divertimenti Carnevaleschi, Op. 4: Perigordino No. 1
Paganini’s divertimenti for string trio are among his earliest published works. These date from 1804.
10/09/24 Edward Burlingame Hill: Divertimento for Piano and Orchestra
As a composition teacher at Harvard, Hill was a major influence. His students include Leonard Bernstein, Walter Piston, Virgil Thomson, Roger Sessions, and Elliott Carter.
10/10/24 Anna Bon: Divertimento in D minor, Op. 3, No. 3
Bon was a harpsichordist working at Esterhazy, where Franz Joseph Haydn was music master. She published three collections of music in the late 1700s. Shortly after, she vanished from the historical record.
10/11/24 Franz Liszt: Divertimento sur une cavatine de Pacini
Liszt used the melody “I tuoi frequenti palpiti” from Pacini’s opera “Niobe” for this work. There’s no question this piece is performed far more often than the original opera.
