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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Divertimento

Divertimento \Di*ver`ti*men"to\, n.; pl. -ti. [It.] (Mus.) A light and pleasing composition.

Wiktionary
divertimento

n. (context music English) a composition that has many short movements, a style that composers started to use in the Eighteenth Century.

WordNet
divertimento
  1. n. a musical composition in several movements; has no fixed form [syn: serenade]

  2. [also: divertimenti (pl)]

Wikipedia
Divertimento

Divertimento (; from the Italian divertire "to amuse") is a musical genre, with most of its examples from the 18th century. The mood of the divertimento is most often lighthearted (as a result of being played at social functions) and it is generally composed for a small ensemble.

Divertimento is used to describe a wide variety of secular instrumental works for soloist or chamber ensemble. It is a kind of music entertainment although it could also be applied to serious genres. After 1780, the term generally designated works that were informal or light.

As a separate genre, it appears to have no specific form, although most of the divertimenti of the second half of the 18th century go either back to a dance suite approach (derived from the 'ballet' type of theatrical divertimento), or take the form of other chamber music genres of their century (as a continuation of the merely instrumental theatrical divertimento). There are many other terms which describe music similar to the divertimento, including serenade, cassation, notturno, Nachtmusik; after about 1780, the divertimento was the term most commonly applied to this light, "after-dinner" and often outdoor music. Divertimenti have from one to nine movements, and there is at least one example with thirteen. The earliest publication to use the name "divertimento" is by Carlo Grossi in 1681 in Venice (Il divertimento de' grandi: musiche da camera, ò per servizio di tavola) and the hint that the divertimento is to accompany "table service" applies to later ages as well, since this light music was often used to accompany banquets and other social events.

Mozart is known for having composed different types of divertimenti, sometimes even taking the form of a small symphony (or, more exactly: sinfonia), for example, the Salzburg Symphonies K. 136, K. 137 and K. 138. Even more unusual is his six movement string trio, the Divertimento in E-flat, K. 563, which is a serious work belonging with his string quartets and quintets, despite it being labeled a divertimento. Other composers of divertimenti include Leopold Mozart, Carl Stamitz, Haydn and Boccherini.

Several examples exist from the 20th century, including works by Alfred Reed, Nikolai Medtner, Ferruccio Busoni, Vincent Persichetti, Sergei Prokofiev, Béla Bartók, Benjamin Britten, Leonard Bernstein, Paul Graener, Gordon Jacob, Lennox Berkeley, Gareth Walters, Malcolm Arnold, Lars-Erik Larsson, Saint-Preux and Bohuslav Martinů. Igor Stravinsky also arranged a divertimento from his ballet to music of Tchaikovsky, Le baiser de la fée, while Joaquín Rodrigo called his 1982 cello concerto a " Concierto como un divertimento" ("Concerto like a divertimento").

Divertimento (Penderecki)

The Divertimento is a 1994 composition for solo cello by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki. The piece is well known for its typical chromatic melodies and for its recurrent use of pizzicati and col legno.

Usage examples of "divertimento".

It failed Kien why anybody would waste his time like that, but he allowed lesser men their divertimenti.

Symphonies, divertimenti for concerted instruments, string quartets, a clavier trio, airs, a cantata, and other works were all produced at these concerts, and with almost invariable applause.

Tutto l'atrio era tappez­zato di manifesti pubblicitari di tutti i possibili divertimenti di una sagra di paese, in un'accozzaglia variopinta di tunnel dell'amore, casa degli specchi, giostre per bambini, fenomeni da baraccone, incontri di Wrestling, concorsi di bellezza, val­zer, altalene, ruote della morte.

In the catalogue of his works there are no fewer than 175 compositions for the instrument--namely, six duets for two barytons, twelve sonatas for baryton and violoncello, twelve divertimenti for two barytons and bass, and 125 divertimenti for baryton, viola and violoncello.

The list, as given by Pohl, comprises, in addition to the works already named, about thirty symphonies six string trios, a few divertimenti in five parts, a piece for four violins and two 'celli, entitled "Echo," twelve minuets for orchestra, concertos, trios, sonatas and variations for clavier, and, in vocal music, a "Salve Regina" for soprano and alto, two violins and organ.

Per puro divertimento (dissero), i giovani operatori barbuti crearono uno stato di servizio militare per Travis, attribuendogli sei anni nei marines e decorando­lo con la Purple Heart più un paio di encomi per il coraggio dimostrato durante una missione di pace in Medio Oriente.

Then came Amsel's swallowtail divertimenti: the unleashed grandmother.

Tutta la settimana frequentammo concerti, locali, cinema, divertimenti serali.