Concerto for flute, harp and orchestra (Mozart)
The Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra in C major KV 299 is a work by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for flute , harp and orchestra . It is the second of a total of three double concertos that Mozart wrote (a fourth remained a fragment). It is also the only work by the composer that features a harp. The piece is part of the repertoire of both instruments and can often be heard on recordings and in concerts.
Emergence
Mozart's third stay in Paris from March 23 to September 26, 1778 was the low point of a nearly one and a half year trip through Germany and France that he undertook with his mother to find a job as Kapellmeister, which was unsuccessful. Apart from the mother's death on July 3, the letters received from this period testify to failed performances (only the ballet music Les petits riens KV 299b was heard publicly), personal deferrals and unpaid lessons and composition commissions. From March or April Mozart was in contact with Adrien-Louis Bonnières de Souastre, Comte (or Duc) de Guines, and his daughter, to whom he gave composition lessons. His impressions were ambivalent. On May 14, 1778 he wrote to Leopold Mozart :
“I think I wrote to you in my last letter that the Duc de Guines, whose daughter is my scolarin in the composition, plays the flute incomparably, and she magnifique the harp; she has a lot of talent and genius, especially an incomparable memory, in that she plays by heart all of her pieces that she really knows. but she strongly doubts whether she also has genius with the composition - especially because of thoughts - ideas, - but her father who (between us, is a little too much in love with her) says she definitely has ideas, it is just stupid - she has just too little trust in herself. Now we have to see. if she doesn't get any ideas or thoughts (because now she really has none at all), it's free, because - I can't give her any. "
What the mother Maria Anna Mozart wrote to Leopold Mozart on April 5th apparently relates to the Comte de Guines and his daughter: "Afterwards he has to do two concerts for a duo, one for the flautraver and one for the harp" . If one assumes that the “2” concerts are a mistake, this passage from the letter could refer to the double concerto KV 299, which would have been written in spring 1778. A short time later, Mozart was already thoroughly disappointed; on July 9th, 1778 he wrote about his daughter that she was “stupid in her heart and then lazy in her heart”, and on July 31st about his father: “he wanted to pay me an hour for 2 hours - and this from égard ['Consideration', probably ironic] because he has already had a concert on the flute and harp from me for 4 months, which he has not yet paid for me. ”This passage also refers to a time when it was written in the spring of 1778.
Historical classification
In Mozart's time, the harp was the fashion instrument of French high society with Paris as its center. Numerous manufacturers were based here, such as the studios of the harp maker Jean-Baptiste Salomon (Dehaye / Deshayes, 1713–1767), the Pierre brothers (1708 / 09–1784) and Jean (1728–1793) Louvet, by François Lejeune (1720) / 24–1785), the teacher of the still famous Georges Cousineau (1733–1800), the founder of "Cousineau, Père et fils", or that of the harp teacher of his Majesty Marie-Antoinette , Jean-Henri Naderman (1734–1796 / 98 or 1799). The factories still known today include those of Sébastien Renault (Renault & Châtelain,? –1811) and Sébastien Érard (Érard frères, 1752–1831). Some harp makers were also active as teachers, composers or harpists. In addition to the obvious need for instruments, there was also a need for new compositions. In addition, thanks to Marie-Antoinette's predilection for the harp, a change took place in which the formerly male-dominated harp world was increasingly conquered by women, which was also reflected in the aesthetics of the compositions. Among the numerous compositions of that era are: the six harp concertos by Jean-Baptiste Krumpholz (1742–1790), the four harp concertos by Daniel Steibelt (1765–1823), the concerto and sonatas by Jean-Baptiste Cardon (1760–1803) and the sonatinas by François-Joseph Naderman (1781–1835). In contrast, the harp was hardly present in German-speaking countries at that time. Only the Austrian composer Johann Georg Albrechtsberger , the teacher of Mozart's son and later Ludwig van Beethoven , wrote some works for harp and orchestra in 1772/73.
The instruments of time
In Mozart's time, the transverse flute, a conical transverse flute made of wood, was developed from a one-keyed to a four-keyed instrument. Mozart's flute concertos in G major and D major were presumably premiered on a single-key flute with d 'as the lowest note. The flute-harp concerto occupies a special position because the c 'in this concerto cannot be played on such a transverse flute. The client of the double concerto, Comte de Guines, must have owned a newly developed six-key flute with c 'and c sharp' keys, possibly by the English flute maker Richard Potter.
At that time, the harp was still in a structural development phase and was not a permanent orchestral instrument ( see the article: Harp ). Due to technical flaws, it was seen as a 'bad piano'. Therefore the combination of flute and harp was a very unusual instrumentation. There are now more works for this duo, but mostly without an orchestra. Most of the compositions were written in the 19th century.
Sébastien Érard did not invent the double-pedal mechanism until 1800, which is why Mozart's concerto was still played on a single-pedal harp. This allowed less modulation and chromaticism, and the instruments were smaller and did not have a very carrying sound. Another problem was that the harp often went out of tune and the strings were of such poor quality that they often broke and had to be replaced. So it is understandable that Mozart was not thrilled when he was supposed to write the piece.
shape
Soloist voices
The flute part is clearly indicated that it was written for an amateur flutist. Hardly any significant difficulties mean that it can also be played by students. That is why the piece often serves as an introduction to the concert form. Of course, the piece should not be underestimated: Even these “simple” passages - like all works by Mozart - must be played elegantly and fluently.
The harp part sounds more like a piano arrangement in many places: Mozart dispenses with glissandos and the full chords typical of the instrument. These 'harp effects' are used in the cadences . Mozart's cadences for this concerto have not survived; instead, well-known cadenzas such as those by Carl Reinecke or Marius Flothuis are often played, and some soloists continue to write or improvise their own cadenzas. The piece is one of the most difficult harp concerts. This difficulty does not lie in virtuosity, but rather in the fact that the voice is very poorly placed. Some passages are therefore often changed by the soloist (e.g. 1st movement, bar 262: arpeggios instead of chords in rapid succession, 3rd movement, bars 142 and 313: omitting a trill). Nonetheless, the concert is popular because you can show technical strengths here and otherwise there are few classical solo concerts for the harp.
construction
One reason the piece is so popular is that it is very entertaining for both the musicians and the audience. Obviously, Mozart always had the audience in mind when composing. The piece essentially follows the shape of the Sinfonia concertante , a shape that was very popular in Paris at the time. Today the piece is often played with a smaller chamber cast.
The piece has a duration of 27 to 30 minutes, depending on the choice of tempos and cadences. The line-up is typical of Mozart's orchestral works: two oboes, bassoon ad libitum, two horns and strings. The greatest difficulty of the orchestra is that it does not 'cover' the soloists, especially the harp, with its sound. In the piece, solo and orchestral passages alternate, but with a few exceptions none of the soloists play alone. Flute and harp alternate with melody and accompaniment, sometimes the voices are even contrapuntal to each other. The structure is typical of Mozart's solo concerts, both harmoniously and in the movement sequence Schnell-Slow-Schnell:
- I. Allegro
(265 bars, approx. 10 minutes)
The orchestra first presents both themes: the first appears directly, the second is introduced by the horn. Both themes follow the main sonata form . The orchestral exposure is followed by the solo exposure, in which the melody is distributed to both soloists.
- II. Andantino
(118 bars, approx. 8 minutes)
The short phrases in this movement are introduced by the strings and then lyrically expanded. This leads to variations on the theme. After the cadenza, a coda appears in which the soloists and the orchestra play the lyrical theme again. The winds are silent in this sentence.
- III. Rondeau - Allegro
(392 bars, approx. 9'30 minutes)
The harmonic sequence of the last movement is: ABCDCB-Cadence-A (Coda). However, some music theorists are of the opinion that it is more of a 'bridge shape' than a rondeau, since elements of the A section can also be found in the C and D sections.
Issues and recordings
Not only for the cadences you can choose between many versions. The harpist, composer and arranger Carlos Salzedo , for example, published a version in which he specified fingerings, changed trills to improve playability, and split passages in the third movement between both hands.
Many recordings and versions of the piece are available on CD. The famous flautist James Galway recorded the concert many times and worked with such eminent harpists as Fritz Helmis , Marisa Robles and Ann Hobson Pilot .
Audio samples
Alexander Murray, flute
Ann Yeung , harp
Sinfonia da Camera of the University of Illinois , Ian Hobson (conductor)
See also
Web links
- Concerto in C for flute, harp and orchestra KV 299 (297c) : Score and critical report in the New Mozart Edition
- Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra : Sheet Music and Audio Files in the International Music Score Library Project
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Briscoe, Doug. Program notes ( memento of October 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive ). Boston Classical Orchestra.
- ^ A b Salzedo, Carlos: Editing Mozart's Flute and Harp Concerto ” . In: American Harp Society 18.4 (Winter 2002), p. 33.
- ↑ a b c Barnett, Rob (Ed.): “Mozart Concerto for Flute and Harp” , MusicWeb International.