Divertissement

A divertissement is a light, multi-movement orchestral or chamber work of the Classical era, written to entertain at aristocratic dinners, garden parties and evening gatherings. Typically scored for small string, wind or mixed forces, it strings together dances, marches and lyrical movements — often several minuets — in the galant manner, demanding polish rather than profundity. *Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart* and *Joseph Haydn* each composed dozens, and Mozart's string divertimenti K. 136–138 and the Divertimento K. 563 remain concert staples; *Béla Bartók* and *Igor Stravinsky* revived the title for major twentieth-century works.