Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Quartet in F Major for oboe, violin, viola & cello, K. 370
Quintet in E Flat Major for horn, violin, two violas and cello, K. 407
Ein musikalischer Spass (A Musical Joke), K. 522

Born in Salzburg in 1756, the son of a musician who was later appointed Vice-Kapellmeister to the ruling Archbishop, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart won international fame as a child prodigy. Adolescence in Salzburg proved less satisfactory, particularly after the death of the old Archbishop and the succession of a new patron who showed much less indulgence to members of his household. Leopold Mozart had early realised the exceptional gifts of his son and had made it his business to develop them to the detriment of his own career, but father and son both understood that provincial Salzburg was far too limited in its opportunities.

In 1777 Mozart's impatience with the limitations of Salzburg had grown to such a pitch that