Flute Concerto No. 1 (Mozart)

The Flute Concerto No. 1 in G major, K. 313, was written in 1778 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Flute Concerto in G major
No. 1
by W. A. Mozart
The young composer, a 1777 copy of a lost painting
KeyG major
CatalogueK. 313
GenreConcerto
StyleClassical period
Composed1778 (1778)
MovementsThree (Allegro maestoso, Adagio ma non troppo, Rondo – Tempo di menuetto)
Scoring
  • Flute
  • orchestra

Commissioned by the Dutch surgeon and amateur flutist Ferdinand Dejean (1731–1797) in 1777, Mozart was supposed to provide four flute quartets and three flute concertos, yet he only completed two of the three concertos, this one being the first.[1] The Andante for Flute and Orchestra, K. 315, may have been written as an alternative slow movement for this concerto, but there is no extant manuscript and it is therefore difficult to ascertain Mozart's intentions clearly (this also means that current editions are based on the earliest editions rather than an autograph).[2]

History

While travelling to Paris with his mother in 1777–1778, Mozart spent about four months in the German city of Mannheim. During this time, Mozart became acquainted with court flutist Johann Baptist Wendling. It was through Wendling that he came into contact with Ferdinand Dejean, an amateur flutist and local physician and well-known medical scholar who commissioned the works from Mozart. Dejean requested that Mozart provide "three short, simple concerti and a couple of quartets for the flute".[3] In exchange for the works, Dejean, who worked for the Dutch East India Company, offered 200 gold pieces. Mozart was unable to complete the commission, releasing two flute concertos (this one and K. 314 in D major) and three flute quartets. The second flute concerto, however, is merely a transposition of Mozart's Oboe Concerto, K. 314.[1]

Mozart's "aversion" of the flute

There is some question about whether Mozart liked the flute. The idea that he may not have liked it comes from a letter he wrote to his father about why he had not finished the commission of Ferdinand Dejean.

Dejean is also leaving for Paris tomorrow and, because I have only finished two concertos and three quartets for him, has sent me 96 gulden too little, evidently supposing that this was the half of 200): but he must pay me in full, for that was my agreement with the Wendlings, and I can send him the other pieces later. It is not surprising that I have not been able to finish them, for I have never a single quiet hour here. I can only compose at night, so that I can't get up early as well; besides, one is not always in the mood for working. I could, to be sure, scribble off things the whole day long, but a composition of this kind goes out into the world, and naturally I do not want to have cause to be ashamed of my name on the title-page. Moreover, you know that I become quite powerless whenever I am obliged to write for an instrument which I cannot bear. Hence as a diversion I compose something else, such as duets for clavier and violin, or I work on my mass.[3]

This aside, however, there is no source that truly clarifies whether Mozart liked or disliked the instrument. It is possible that he feared the disappointment and anger of his father and merely made up reasons for his delay in completing the commission.[3]

Movements

The concerto is scored for a standard orchestral string section, two oboes (which are replaced with two flutes in the Adagio movement), and two horns.[4] A performance lasts about 25 minutes.

The piece is divided into three movements:

  1. Allegro maestoso, 4/4
  2. Adagio ma non troppo, in G major 4/4
  3. Rondo: Tempo di Menuetto Moderato, 3/4
Main theme of movement 1

Allegro maestoso

Duration: approximately 8 1/2 minutes

The first movement is written in sonata form. The exposition contains two themes, the first in G major and the second in the dominant key of G, D major. The two themes also return in the recapitulation, but both return in the key of G. The main theme of the movement is considered to be a ritornello and returns many times throughout the movement in both the orchestra and the flute part.[5]

Main theme movement 2

Adagio ma non troppo

Duration: approximately 8 1/2 minutes

The second movement is written in the key of D major. The main theme is introduced by the orchestra and then passed to the solo flute. Of the three movements of the concerto, this one in particular is more of a duet between the soloist and orchestra. Throughout the movement, the soloist and the orchestra create a musical dialogue while passing melodic lines back and forth.

Main theme of movement 3

Rondo: Tempo di menuetto

Duration: approximately 7 1/2 minutes

The recurring theme in the third movement is in the home key of G major. Contrary to the other movements of the concerto, the middle of this movement incorporates a lead-in as opposed to a cadenza.

References
  1. Stevenson, Joseph. Flute Concerto No. 1 in G major at AllMusic
  2. De Boni, Marco, "Critical and Performance Notes", in Mozart, W. A., Concerto in G, MDB Urtext, 2015, ISBN 9781519393357
  3. Bowers, Jane (1992). "Mozart and the Flute". Early Music. Oxford University Press: 30–39.
  4. Huscher, Phillip. Program notes Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine. Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall.
  5. Randel, Don Michael, ed. "Ritornello Form", The New Harvard Dictionary of Music. 2nd ed. 1986.
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