Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Nepomuk Wendt

The Magic Flute

Soon after the premieres of Mozart's operas, arrangements of the most popular numbers for a wide variety of instrumental ensembles appeared. In addition to versions for harmony music, there were also those for individual instrumental groups. The present version of 17 numbers from 'Die Zauberflöte', arranged for 2 flutes, was written by Mozart's contemporary Johann Went, one of the most important arrangers of the time. It was published by Schott-Verlag as early as 1794 and enjoyed extraordinary popularity among students and musicians. A glance at the table of contents shows that none of the common melodies has been left out: 'Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja' - 'Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön' - 'In diesen heil'gen Hallen' - 'O Isis und Osiris' - 'Der Hölle Rache' - 'Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen' - as well as eleven other numbers offer a representative cross-section of the opera.