Mozart Concerto for Flute and Harp, K. 299

Entry 1

The piece that I listened to was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp in C Major, K. 299. I listened to several recordings of this work, but my favorite featured Julius Baker (flute) and Hubert Jelinek (harp) with an orchestra conducted by Antonio Janigro.

This work is standard for the time in terms of its ternary form—three movements, following the standard fast-slow-fast formula. The first movement is an allegro in sonata form, the second is slow and lyrical, and the third is lively and in rondo form. Really, I probably could have said all this after seeing the title alone—the piece is not original in that sense. Similarly, the key relationships in these movements while not quite standard are highly uninventive. The opening movement starts and ends in C major, though it does modulate a bit during the development. The last movement follows this same trend. Normally, one would expect the middle movement to be in the dominant key, but this one is actually in the sub-dominant key of F major. This music could by no means called adventurous. The three movement form and simple harmony indicate that this is fairly early work in Mozart's career.

Overall, I found this work to be quite pleasant and, at times, engaging even, but the piece as a whole is not exceptional. Here, Mozart is, as always a master melodist. The lines are beautifully shaped, but these are not some of his most memorable themes. The beginning of the main theme from the slow movement comes to mind as being particularly enjoyable, but the tune soon meanders into rather standard sounding phrases.

Though the melodies are unremarkable, what is really unfortunate about the piece is the that Mozart does not take complete advantage of his material. The harp of Mozart's time was not as complex as it is today. The double-action harp used today was not invented until 1810, so the harpist who originally performed this work was limited in terms of harmonic possibilities. The harp part has very few notes outside of the C major scales—mostly F# and Bb. Because of this the development section in the first movement is not as interesting as it could be with a fully chromatic instrument. One of the most fun things about the music of the Classical era is its harmonic instability and constant modulation. The use of the harp in some ways seems to be like a set of handcuffs on Mozart's wrists.

I think my favorite part of the piece is the part Mozart did not write—the cadenza. I am a sucker for beautiful, virtuosic harp playing. Even though all of the cadenzas I heard were pre-composed, the improvisatory nature of this section was exciting to me. The piece's key of C major also allows for the musicians to show off. The cadenza is the longest segment in the piece where the flute and harp play as a duet without the intrusion of orchestral accompaniment. This wonderful, exciting music, but this is the part of the piece most dependent on the performers. The section could easily be boring for any number of reasons in the hands of lesser musicians.

The special thing about this work is the combination of flute and harp. It is a pair capable of making truly beautiful sonorities. The two instruments share a delicacy and sweetness that make them particularly suited to “pretty” music. Another advantage is the ability of the harp to fill the accompaniment role. This allows for a great amount of orchestrational possibilities because the flute and harp are able to play as a duet without the need for the orchestra to accompany. There are also moments in which each instrument acts as soloist with orchestral accompaniment and even some brief solo harp moments. The orchestration of much Classical era music seems uninventive to my modern ears and is one of the things that often hinders my ability to enjoy these works. By using a the harp as accompanist, Mozart is able to create huge timbral shifts that break up tiresome sound of an entire orchestra playing the whole time.

Of course, Mozart's place in the Canon is large and well-secured. He has works of all different genres that are played by many musicians today. These include works for solo piano, operas, chamber works of various sorts, as well as numerous works like this for one or more soloists with orchestral accompaniment. So does this work deserve to be added to the vast forest of the standard repertoire? In my opinion, no, it does not. Perhaps it deserves to be played on occasion when a flautist and harpist really want to play a Mozart concerto together. No one needs to go out of their way to hear this piece, but if subjected to it a listener would not suffer too much. These are catchy melodies, but when one hears such lines one cannot help but think, “Mozart.” The themes seem vaguely familiar, as if pieced together from fragments of other melodies I have heard in Mozart's works.

The overwhelming majority of music that I listen to for pleasure was written in or after the twentieth century. I do desire to be a well educated musician, so I have been trying to expand my musical tastes backward. As a composition major, I know that there is a great deal to be learned from studying these older works, but I often find it hard to relate to these works. The composers obviously did not write for the twentieth ear. This piece is incredibly long for its relative simplicity. It is these types of observations, though, that I know will ultimately help me as a composer. Mainly, these thoughts will help guide my choices as to what not to do in my pieces. Perhaps twenty-five minutes locked solidly in the key of C major is just a little too much time.