For me, in high school, one particularly strong motivation for writing music was the prospect of having it played by real musicians (duh). A seemingly common thread is the fact that none of the music was actually ever played, despite countless unsuccessful attempts over the years to secure musicians and venues. This stand-alone orchestral minuet and trio is no exception, and was the result of an attempt to organize a flashmob orchestra at the end of the school year in Windsor, CA.
Initially I planned to write a Mozartian serenade featuring a full complement of strings, 2 clarinets, 2 oboes, 3 trumpets, 2 horns, and tympani (tonic and dominant only, as per most of the music from that time period). This movement featured reduced instrumentation as a matter of course, showcasing only one solo clarinet and one solo horn along with the violins, violas, celli, and basses; no music was ever written to actually use the aforementioned full instrumentation. I started the minuet first, but soon ran out of time and motivation to finish the other 2-5 movements I had envisioned.
Despite being awkward and insignificant on its own, I figured since it was actually finished I should just publish it, as I have no plans to do anything else with the music. Most of the stuff I’ve posted is old, and I was holding out with the hopes of finishing a lot of it, but never actually did. That has led to a large amount of partially-completed music piling up and I think I’ve decided that I’m just going to publish whatever’s got a double bar line and call it a day.
Composers I’ve ripped-off to make this piece possible:
W. A. Mozart
