These three serenades, cassations or divertimentos (the titles seem to have been fairly freely interchangeable) were all written in Salzburg in 1769, when Mozart was a mere 13 but already a master of the orchestra. The D major, K100/62a (for strings, flutes/oboes, horns and trumpets) has an associated March (K62) and eight movements, the second, third and fourth of which feature a solo oboe and horn; K63 and K99/63a (both for strings, oboes and horns) also have introductory marches, and seven movements, the fifth in K63 being an eloquent concerto movement for solo violin and strings (with divise violas).
The D major, K100 makes rare appearances on records, and is at present only available as part of the Philips Complete Mozart Edition (6747 378, 9/77): likewise K63 and 99, although they have occasionally appeared coupled together (notably on Decca JB66—11/80, nla—performed by the Vienna Mozart Ensemble under Willi Boskovsky). To have all three works on one record is a treat, even if it means that no repeats are observed, except in the Minuets (and, curiously, in the G minor Trio of K63's first Minuet). The performances, by Jean-Francois Paillard and his eponymous Chamber Orchestra, display a nice feeling for style, if not quite the panache of Boskovsky and his Viennese team. Some tempos strike me as being rather on the fast side (notably that of the first Minuet in K99, which is positively skittish), and I am not convinced by Paillard's slowing down for the Trio of K63's first Minuet or for the minore episode in its concluding Rondo; but these are very minor points in an enjoyable and well-engineered recording that contains over an hour's music. The names of the excellent violin, oboe and horn soloist should have been printed on the sleeve.'