Concerto for flute and harp in C major, K.299

Neither the flute nor the harp was Mozart’s favourite instrument. But he did enjoy listening to the Comte de Guines who, he told his father in a letter from Paris in 1778, “plays the flute extremely well” and his daughter who “plays the harp magnifique.” So he was not displeased to receive a commission to write a double concerto for them; the displeasure came later when the Comte took so long in paying him for his work.

The Comte de Guines and his daughter were surely not disappointed by what Mozart had written for them. From the opening bars of the orchestral exposition there is evidence of congenial material – an arpeggio fanfare which is obviously just made for the harp and a chromatic legato line which will sound well on the flute. After the entry of the soloists, there is a delightful new second-subject theme for flute delicately accompanied by sotto voce harp. The development has several examples of similarly subtle scoring for the two instruments together. The Andantino is particularly attractive in this respect, above all perhaps when flute and harp first enter with the main theme, the melody in both instruments at first, with sonorous accompanying chords on the harp, and then floating upwards on the flute above fluent harp harmonies.

The last movement is a rondo very much in the French taste. After their long silence, the orchestral wind instruments, the oboes and horns, have a rewardingly prominent part to play here. Their main function is to carry a little refrain which is first heard just before the entry of the soloists and last heard, after some interesting blends of horn and oboe colours with flute and harp, in the final bars.

Neither the flute nor the harp was Mozart’s favourite instrument. But he did enjoy listening to the Comte de Guines who, he told his father in a letter from Paris in 1778, “plays the flute extremely well” and his daughter who “plays the harp magnifique.” So he was not displeased to receive a commission to write a double concerto for them; the displeasure came later when the Count took so long in paying him for his work.

The Comte de Guines and his daughter were surely not disappointed by what Mozart had written for them. From the opening bars there is clear evidence of congenial material – an arpeggio fanfare which is obviously just made for the harp and a more melodious line which will sound well on the flute. After the entry of the soloists, the flute introduces a delightful new theme delicately accompanied by sotto voce harp. The are several examples of similarly subtle scoring for the two instruments together. The Andantino is particularly attractive in this respect, above all perhaps when flute and harp first enter with the main theme, the melody in both instruments at first, with sonorous accompanying chords on the harp, and then floating upwards on the flute above fluent harp harmonies.

The last movement is a rondo very much in the French taste. After their long silence in the Andantino, the orchestral wind instruments, the oboes and horns, have a rewardingly prominent part to play here. Their main function is to carry a little refrain which is first heard just before the entry of the soloists and last heard, after some interesting blends of horn and oboe colours with flute and harp, in the final bars.

Neither the flute nor the harp was Mozart’s favourite instrument. But he seemed to enjoy listening to the Comte de Guines who, he told his father in a letter from Paris in 1778, “plays the flute extremely well” and his daughter who “plays the harp magnifique.” Certainly, he was not displeased to receive a commission to write a double concerto for them; the displeasure came later when the Count took so long in paying him for his work.

The Comte de Guines and his daughter were surely not disappointed by the Concerto Mozart had written for them. From the opening bars of the orchestral exposition there is evidence of congenial material - an arpeggios fanfare which is obviously just made for the harp and a chromatic legato line which will sound well on the flute. The second subject has perhaps less in it for the soloists but the flute makes up for that later by introducing a delightful new second-subject theme in G major delicately accompanied by sotto voce harp. The development has several examples of similarly subtle scoring for the two instruments together - nothing sensational or heroically difficult but much that calls for a discreet balance of sound and fine blends of colours. It is a pity, however, that Mozart’s flute-and-harp cadenza has disappeared.

The scoring of the F major Andantino is particularly attractive, above all perhaps when flute and harp first entre with the main theme, the melody in both instruments at first, with sonorous accompanying chords on the harp, and then floating upwards on the flute above fluent harp harmonies. The decorative second subject is even richer in detail when it reappears in the recapitulation, the soloists lavishing more elaborate figuration on it.

The last movement is a rondo very much in the French taste. After their long silence, the orchestral wind instruments, the oboes and horns, have a rewardingly prominent part to play here. Their main function is to carry a little refrain which is first heard just before the first entry of the soloists and last heard, after some interesting blends of horn and oboe colours with flute and harp, in the final bars.