Mozart Divertimento in D K136: Transcribed for Cello and Simple Accompaniment

Here is Mozart‘s Divertimento in D K136, in a transcription for cello and simple accompaniment. This is one of his most popular pieces and is one of the three “Salzburg” Divertimenti for strings (quartet, quintet or string orchestra) composed in 1772 when Mozart was 16 years old. Having played the cello part in this piece for 50 years, and jealous of the violinists and the magnificent themes that they get to play, I wanted to see if it would be possible to play the “tune” for a change. It is !

To make it more easily playable, it has been taken down a tone from its original D Major into C major.

FIRST MOVEMENT: Allegro

With the (almost) non-stop driving eighth-note rhythms in the accompaniment, it is as if Mozart was anticipating the energy of rock music. Mind you, the energy of a lot of (especially Italian) Baroque (or Barock !!) fast music is often quite similar.

The fast passage from bar 10-12 can be played in thumbposition in the neck region to avoid the fast shifting. It can also be slightly modified to make it even easier, which is especially useful for the small-handed cellist:

Here is the sheet music:

1.  Cello Part: EDITED
2.     Cello Part: CLEAN
3.     Cello Part: EASIER VERSION
4.     Piano Score

1.   Engraving Files (XML)

And here is a play-along accompaniment with a 1.5 bar introduction: