Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) composed this concerto in G in 1778 at the age of 22. In the context of other repertoire, Telemann wrote his fantasias for solo flute forty-five years earlier (1733), and JS Bach wrote his partita ten years prior to that. This concerto was commissioned by the Dutch flutist Ferdinand Dejean in 1777 as part of a wider project to provide four flute quartets and three concertos. This is the first of only two concertos that were completed.

This blog post is based on a tonebase course from flutist Amy Porter, which covers a deep-dive into the performance insights of this piece:

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This work should only be tackled once the player is ready to absorb context about stylistic affects. This is an important piece in the repertoire, and is often a required work in auditions from amateur to professional level. It is such a transparent work, and Mozart is enduringly popular. Every aspect of technique, intonation, tone, is exposed in this piece, so it can reveal a lot about the player to any adjudicating panel.

The 1930s saw a resurgence of interest in eighteenth-century performance practice. These rules of the time were considered the foundation of good playing and became the performance tradition that all musicians followed. Inflection, imbalance, nuanced pitch, and conversational phrasing were the norms of Baroque and Classical music. These were gradually replaced by the homogenous, full-bodied tone twenty-first-century audiences are more accustomed to, more like singing than speech. This shift was largely due to the influence of Richard Wagner.

This leaves challenges for a player attempting Mozart’s flute concerto on a modern instrument. Porter’s advice is got approach this music like an opera, adding words, speech, drama, and inflection. All the nuance of the historic flute is still available on the modern instrument. Although there are no recordings from this time, there is written guidance from Tromlitz, Türk, Agricola, CPE Bach, and Quantz. In particular, Quantz’s publication, On Playing the Flute, is a most useful resource for interpreting music in the eighteenth-century style.

Concert pitch was A=435Hz in the eighteenth century, and is now typically A=440Hz. Pitch was structured in just intonation with 24 separate intervals, instead of the twelve used these days. For example, D-sharp and E-flat had different fingerings, and these variable tones gave a haunting and expressive sound. Equal temperament on the flute was developing at this time, with many innovations credited to Tromlitz.

The urtext edition does not include many markings, such as slurs and appoggiaturas, that are often expected. Over the decades, several flute players have produced their own editions, suggesting what Mozart might have intended, but these do not reflect the composer’s intentions. It is better to go back to the urtext and make decisions based on knowledge.

Modern metal flutes also have a different tone to the wooden instruments of Mozart’s day. This does not mean avoiding the full tone of the modern flute entirely when playing this concerto, but perhaps considering the sound produced in terms of bowing. Wash the air across the lip plate, releasing diaphragmatic pressure slowly, giving a more gentle air stroke. Try to emulate Quantz’s suggestions whenever possible. Playing with an orchestra, the sound of course will need to carry properly. The approach should balance this need for projection with faith to the style and genre.

There are two kinds of trills to consider: decorative and cadential. Decorative trills, as expected, decorate and do not resolve; these do not require an appoggiatura. Cadential trills resolve and need an appoggiatura. This appoggiatura introduces a non-harmony note, adding tension which is released when it moves to the expected harmony note. Mozart exploited the appoggiatura to great effect. They are also a precursor to the articulation now known as “slur two, tongue two.”

There are two types of short appoggiatura:

• A short grace note, extremely short and unaccented, anticipating the beat and attacked very weakly;
• An accented short appoggiatura on the beat with the function of a suspension.

It is better to play appoggiaturas short and before the beat. Where Mozart writes an appoggiatura before a trill, it typically serves a rhythmic purpose and should be played as a long note. There are several varieties of trills: the proper or long trill; with or without terminations; trill from above; and the short Pralltriller. In addition, Mozart was fond of the gruppetto, which was also considered a type of trill. In faster movements, trills should be light and effortless, taking up little time in the measure. In slower movements, they should be slow and not aggressive.

Vibrato was notated with a squiggly line above the note and was typically reserved for emotion and length. The style of vibrato was quite consistent until the early twentieth century, when it became wider and more intentional after the violinist Carl Flesch’s influence. Use vibrato sparingly in this concerto – solely to enhance the music. Rather unusually, each movement of this concerto can be played at a very similar tempo, bringing out the elegance of the entire work.

I. Allegro Maestoso

G major is a very comfortable key for the wooden flute. Marked Allegro maestoso, this movement should not be played too fast, and certainly no faster than ♩= 120. By contrast, if it is too slow, it really loses its joy. Many elements of a typical warm-up will apply to this movement, such as technical thirds and other scale and arpeggio exercises. Slow practice is also extremely useful, and even trying phrases in different keys can help with familiarization.

The first note requires proper planning, otherwise it is prone to cracking. Decide the vowel and articulation in advance. Returning to the opera idea, consider the character that might sing this melody. Porter begins this theme – which never reappears exactly the same – with an aah vowel, keeping the tongue down and to the front. Instead of repeating this motif, Mozart instead presents it with scale patterns filling in the intervals, especially D down to G. These scale passages with grace notes should be played evenly using slur-two-tongue-two articulation.

The frequent use of this motif can also guide breathing spaces. When Mozart writes the scale pattern three times, followed by a trill and arpeggio, the breath should be at the barline to avoid disrupting the harmony of the chord. Feel the phrase in two measures and it should feel more like a voice melody.

For the low register, use “dog” or “do” to articulate and keep the air moving all the way through the instrument. Keep the repeated notes short in measure 46 as these serve more of a rhythmic than harmonic function. Play softly and invite the audience to listen more closely.

Measures 37 and 38 are an orchestral tutti. Some editions include these as part of the soloists melody, but this is incorrect. Decay away from the tie in measure 52 for the intended articulation. In measure 60, play a G-natural at the start and a G-sharp towards the end. Similarly, in measure 178, it is C-natural at the start and C-sharp at the end. Some editions have adjusted these accidentals. Play the grace notes in measure 70 short and before the beat, also keeping the arrival notes detached. In the following measure, ensure the chromatic A-sharp is properly felt before adding the B to the decorative trill. 

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The dynamics in measure 77 should diminuendo to the A, then forte for B, C-sharp, and D. The decorative trill arrives in measure 81 should be a short Pralltriller. Use an echo effect, forte to piano, for the repeated statement in measure 85. Measure 88 is to be played without slurs, despite the addition some editors have made. Avoid making big jaw movements, and these tenths should be manageable. The groupings of two in measure 127 to 129 was commonly used to create lightness. The short trill can either be a grupetto or Pralltriller. Enjoy the constantly changing key of this passage.

Find places to breathe wherever there is a good opportunity. After long notes and phrase endings are usually good moments. Just make sure the phrasing brings the joy of Mozart’s score to the fore. This music is very expressive, but perhaps in a less familiar way. Err on the side of keeping it simple, relying on the tension and drama infused in the melody complemented with knowledge of the styles and norms of the period.

II. Adagio ma non troppo

The second movement, Adagio ma non troppo, should not be played too slowly. The opening theme is played multiple times, first by the orchestra and then taken up by the soloist. Each time it is slightly altered. To give shape to the phrase, let the music recede away from the last G on beat 4. The end of the phrase in this period should be a point of repose. Typically, each phrase should have a high point and then a decay.

Whereas the first time this opening melody appears, it can be played very freely, its second entry (m. 39) is with the strings, so it must be a little more fixed. The pickups into measure 43 begin the trills on the main note as they are decorative ornaments. The third entry of the main theme in measure 60 brings the orchestral flutes with the soloist. Listen carefully to keep the ensemble together. The grace note in measure 49 can be played either on or before the beat, as it does not belong to a note value.

Staccato notes in a slow movement like this should have a lift and just a little length while being clearly separated. When a staccato falls on a pickup, ensure the downbeat has more weight. The suspensions in measure 25 have no specific articulation markings and so should be played long and connected.

There are very few dynamic markings in this movement, so it is up to the performer to make some decisions. Instead of thinking simply in terms of loud and soft, consider the dynamics as moments of shadows and light. A forte should sound full and beautiful, and a piano should contrast like a whisper or a gentle caress.

III. Rondo: Tempo Di Menuetto Moderato

The final movement is a rondo, marked Tempo di Menuetto. Make sure the first beat is clearly felt to give the feeling of a minuet while maintaining the four-bar phrase structure. The tempo should closely match the first movement. Try to give the repeated notes an upbow inflection, keeping them slightly separated.

Measure 47 is a great example of conversational writing, like characters in a play or opera. In measure 73, consider Daniel Gottlob Türk’s guidance on appoggiaturas: “An appoggiatura is longer before a note, particularly a short note, after which others of the same value follow.” The section from measure 107 until the cadenza offers a fantastic character scene study. It is very easy to imagine three characters in conflict or discussion here.

The articulation in this movement should follow a similar approach to Bach’s music. Slur in groupings according to the technique, but avoid the common slur-two-tongue-two. Although this grouping really found its home in Mozart’s music and in this era, it should not be overused and needs consideration for proper placement. The slur-two fits over a half-step, for instance, giving motion through a phrase. Other variations (slur-two-tongue-four or six) all have the same effect of propelling the phrase forward. There are many patterns that this articulation (or one of its variants) fits comfortably.

Cadenza

Improvisation was an essential skill in Mozart’s day and gave performers the freedom (and expectation) to adorn the solo parts in concertos. This gave them an opportunity to showcase their talent at extracting essential themes from the concerto and giving them new life. Mozart did not provide cadenzas for his wind concerti, so today’s soloists need to rely on other sources to come up with their ideas. 

Cadenzas fall on the 6/4 chord on the dominant, where the composer has marked a fermata. A short cadenza should not modulate, but longer ones can drift into subdominant and dominant tonalities. Further guidance can be found in Quantz’s book, as well as The Classical Woodwind Cadenza by David Lasocki and Betty Bang Mather.

Be careful of mixing different emotional elements into the cadenza too often. Of course, some variety is acceptable but repeated switching between joyous and somber (for example) will not fit, particularly in a shorter cadenza.

By the nineteenth century, composers would typically provide cadenzas to their concerti. These may influence players to come up with a cadenza that is outside the classical style. Porter recommends stealing material from the piano score that is not included in the solo part to construct an interesting cadenza that builds on, rather than deviates from, Mozart’s composition. In her cadenza for the slow movement, she also borrows from an aria from Don Giovanni. Tromlitz disapproved of performers abusing the cadenza opportunity and recommended fitting it all into one breath.

Conclusion

Mozart’s Flute Concerto No. 1 is one of the most important flute compositions of the repertoire, and with such musical complexity comes a need to dialed-in interpretation and musical concentration.

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