What did they do for fun in 18th century Vienna? Austrians went out dancing at many balls, especially during Carnival season. When they stayed indoors, they were sitting at card tables and playing whist, or hombre or cavagnole, often losing very expensive shirts in the gambling process.
The athletically inclined were into ninepins, and the musically inclined were fans of chamber music. And they were big fans of chamber music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, like his piano quartets.
You get a few friends together, practice like mad and then amuse each other and anyone else who was around to listen to the tunesmith from Salzburg. And one of the top sellers was Mozart's Second Piano Quartet.
MUSIC: Mozart: Piano Quartet No. 2 DG 6609
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30 Days of Classical, Day 1: Bernhard Crusell
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