Flute Concerto No. 1 (Mozart)

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". 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. 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. ==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. A performance lasts about 25 minutes. The piece is divided into three movements: I. Allegro maestoso Duration: approximately 8.5 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 a ritornello and returns many times throughout the movement in both the orchestra and the flute part. II. Adagio ma non troppo Duration: approximately 8.5 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. III. Rondo: Tempo di menuetto Duration: approximately 7.5 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==