Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra

in C major, K. 299 (297c)

C-dur en ut majeur
III 1. Allegro
rn 2. Andantino
[]] 3. Rondeau: Allegro
Cadenzas/Kadenzen/cadences: Carl Reinecke
Wolfgang Schulz, flute Ni.canor Zabaleta, harp
Concerto for Flute and Orchestra
No. 1 in G major, K. 313 (285c)
G-dur en sol majeur
GJ 1. Allegro maestoso
[] 2. Adagio ma non troppo
[] 3. Rondeau: Tempo di Menuetto
Cadenzas: Anton Gisler
Werner Tripp, flute
Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra
in B flat major, K. 191 (186e)
B-dur en si. bimol majeur
[I] 1.Allegro
[] 2. Andante ma adagio
liD 3. Rondo : Tempo di Menuetto
Cadenzas: Dietmar Zeman
Di.etmar Zeman, bassoon/ Fagott
Wiener Philharmoniker KARL BOHM
[27'44]
[ 10 ' 2 7]
[ 9 '10]
[10'06]
[ 27 '15]
[9'39]
[ 9 ' 4 3]
[ 7 ' 53]
[19'14]
[ 7 'll]
[ 7 ' 3 9]
[4'24]
The Music
Mozart was 18 years old when he wrote his first surviving concerto for a wind
instrument, the Bassoon Concerto K. 191, in June 1774. He had recently start-
ed to tackle the solo concerto (his first piano and violin concertos date from
the previous year). and it seems likely that the bassoon piece was written for
one of the players in the Salzburg court orchestra. The two works involving
flute were written during one of the turning points in the young Mozart's life,
his fateful trip to Paris, chaperoned by his mother, between 1777 and 1778.
Did you know?
In the audience at a concert given by the
Mozart children in Frankfurt on 18 Au
gust 1 763 was the father of the German
poet }ohann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Stopping off in Mannheim, he made
friends with numerous musicians, in-
cluding the flautist in the famous court
orchestra, Johann Baptist Wendling,
who arranged a commission from a
Dutch amateur player by the name of
De Jean to write three concertos and
two quartets for the instrument. Hav-
ing torn himself away from Mannheim,
and the girl he fell in love with there, Aloysia Weber, Mozart followed Wendling
to Paris, where he was commissioned to write a combined Concerto for Flute
and Harp, both popular instruments in Paris, for an aristocratic amateur, the
Due de Guines and his daughter.
Facts
While at work (lH'l the flute concertos, Mozart admitted to h.is father that "my
minciJ gets easily dulled, as you know, when lim supposedA:o write a lot for at:l in-
s t r u m e ~ t l can't stand".
The flute that the Due de Guines played had an extra tail-joint that made it pos-
sible to play higher notes (in the concerto's first and last movements) than found
in Mozart's other flute music.
;;;;; 4&6& 614 ;; & 5 U Bf&i4'r6 HH *MPiW NH86' i& r
During the 1770s, an instrumental form known as the symphonie concertante
came into fashion, descended from the old c0ncerto grosso for multiple instru-
ments (like Bach's Brandenburg Concertos). It was particularly popular in both
Mannheim and Paris, and Mozart's Flute and Harp Concerto falls into this category.
A popular expressiora ira fhe 18th-cen
sic was tme French term go/ant. At th
C0ncento it had! ceme to sigmify pre.
izes this work. if"he ga1ant aspect of
sort of scathing dismissal expressftd
too pretty, t0o easy om
The Recordings
Mozart at his most elegant in music for sophisticated amateur players of flute
and harp, togetliier with the early concerto for bassoon. Givi.ng what the Pen-
guin Guide described as "meltingly beal!ltiful accounts", the players of the solo
cohcertos "perform witn the utmost distinetion under Bohm, who lets tine mu-
sic unfold i ~ an unforce!li way, relaxed yet )/ital".
Listening Guide
Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra in ( major, K. 299
The two instruments that Mozart is wr iting for here are fairly light in timbre, so
he has chosen a light instrumental texture to set them against: an orchestra con-
sisting of only two oboes, two horns and strings. In th e very first phrase he makes
sure that the harp's presence can be heard by asking it to use its defining ef-
fect, the arpegg io, that is, spread ing the notes of the chord. When the soloists
enter alone with the same stately theme, the oboes and horns are kept out of the
mixture to allow the f lute and harp maximum audibility. Elsewhere Mozart asks
the strings to play plucked notes, a char-
acteristic go/ant effect that ensures the
accompaniment is not too overpowering.
In the slow movement the oboes and
horns are entirely silent, but Mozart en-
hances the texture of the accompaniment
by dividing the violas into two parts.
(Along with other instruments, Mozart al-
so played the viola, and he often provides
interesting lines for this "Cinderella" of
the orchestra.) In the final, busy Rondo, the separa tion of flute and harp from
the oboes and horns makes the latter instruments start to sound like soloists
themselves: listen to the oboes playing together with the flute and harp around
the 3'10" mark, or the horns at around 7'15".
www.mozartforever.com www.universalclassics.com
181m (K. 299) 181m Original-Image Bit-Processing (K. 191, K. 313)
Recordings: Vienna, Musikverein, Grosser Saal, 58: 11/1973 (K. 191),
5/1973 8:4/1974 (K. 313), 5/1975 (K. 299)
Produced by Werner Mayer (K. 299)
Executive Producers: Dr. Ellen Hickmann (K. 191); Dr. Ell en Hickmann/Werner Mayer (K. 313)
Recording Producer: Werner Mayer (K. 191, K. 313)
Tonmei ster (Balance Engineers): Gunter Hermanns/Kiaus Scheibe (K. 191, K. 313);
Gunter Hermanns (K. 299)
Recording Engineers: Gernot Westhauser /Wolf-Dieter Karwatky (K. 191 ); Gernot Westhauser
Wolf-Dieter Karwatky/Kiaus Behrens/Jurgen Bulgrin (K. 313); Volker Martin (K. 299)
Editing: Jobst Eberhardt/Wolf-Dieter Karwatky (K. 191); Klaus Beh rens/Jobst Eberhardt
Jurgen Bulgrin (K. 313); Jobst Eberhardt (K. 299)

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EMIL BERLINERSTUOIOS
Mastered by Emil Berliner Studios
1974 (K. 191)/1975 (K. 313)/1976 (K. 299) Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
Texts: Kenneth Chalmers
Deutsche Obersetzung: Reinhard Luthje
Traduction Dennis Collins
2005 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
Product Management: Susanne McBurney
Booklet Editor: Jens Schunemeyer Art Direction: Philipp Starke
Design: WAPS, Hamburg Cover Photo: Karina Schwarz
Artist Photo: Siegfried Lauterwasser Illustrations: Musical conversation,
drawing by J.E. Schenau (p. 6); Mozart as Knight of the Golden Spur (1777).
anon. painting (p. 11) akg-images Printed in the E.U.
Added By Abhi Sharma