Picciola serenata

Salieri's success as a composer was approaching its peak, as his music quietly faded in popularity into the beginning of the 1800s.

The serenade is in four movements as follows:The opening movement begins with a stately entrance in B-flat major in which the two oboes present the motive while the bassoon and two horns provide a strong foundation of the tonic chord on the downbeat.

This movement takes many harmonic and melodic elements from the first two, namely the frequent modulation to the tonic key and chromatic passing tones.

Similar to the first movement and unlike the second, the piece uses first and second oboes to carry most of the melodic content, while the horns and bassoon provide harmony and counterpoint.

Towards the end of the movement, there is a cadenza in the first oboe all centered around the V chord of F major, after which the piece returns to the opening material of the movement, ending in B-flat major.