Mozart, Concerto for Flute and Harp, K. 299

Richard B. Gibson.
Music History 352WI

Mozart, Concerto for Flute and Harp, K. 299
(Naxos Music Library)

Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp, K. 299 has 3 movements. The Allegro, the Andantino, and then another Allegro. The first Allegro lasts for 10:01, the Andantino lasts for 7:32 and the second Allegro lasts for 9:43 with a total length of 27:16. As the title states it is in the concerto genre. Instrumentation consists of the flute (played by Juri Valek), the harp (played by Hana Mullerova) along with strings, oboe and horns. The main stylistic feature is the Sinfonia Concertante which, when he wrote this piece, was the rage in France. On another note, it is the only piece in which Mozart ever used the harp.
In the allegro, there is quite a bit of sequencing. Shown first in the flute, which is the main instrument for the first opening phrase and then repeated alike in the harp. It seems to lack originality, with all of the repetitious sequencing and lack of flare in the music, knowing how wonderful Mozart was. The flute would have several sequences, and then it seemed like the harp would just repeat what the flute did. It is a lovely piece overall but the Allegro lacked a little special something that Mozart often gave. I think it might have been the fact that he was asked to write this piece and tried to do so in a hurry. Also that his mother died in Paris while travelling with him. It goes to show you how the emotion of a composer is critically important to the overall outcome of a piece. One has to wonder how glorious this piece might have been if the circumstances were more favorable for Mozart.
Also at first listen, I hear a lot of other pieces flow into my head that Mozart wrote. Due to my lack of vocabulary, or knowledge of piece names, in Classical music I cannot name the pieces for you, but it does seem to hint at other works. For example I continue to hear the Magic Flute whenever I am done with the piece. My feeling on this is that Mozart used phrases in this to help with other works of his. Further on into the Allegro I still feel like I have heard this piece before. It might be the constant re-occurrence of musical phrases, but the first Allegro just continues to scream of other works. I know it sounds redundant but the mystery is one that cannot be solved so easily as to which pieces lie in this work.
The layering in the Andantino is actually quite lovely. Mozart starts small with the strings giving them a smooth and peaceful melodic line. Then he melts the flute and harp into it, with ceasing the strings all together, and for just a moment, you will not even notice. The music that continues can almost float you away into a beautiful sleep, like it is a lullaby. Mozart then takes the piece right back into the strings giving them more presence and building upon his earlier theme. It is simply inspiring how he can make the flute and harp sing together so peacefully that you just want to turn the lights down and catch up on some sweet dreams that you feel you’d missed. Then Mozart can make the dance so you envision little fairies playing in a garden on the edge of sleep. It returns back to the earlier theme at about the 5:45 mark, and builds from there as if to wake you up for more to come and ends just like it started.
The second Allegro starts out with much more fervor, as much as the instruments seem to want to give you. Mozart then builds the music to a powerful climax, and brings it straight back down for just a moment with just the flute and harp. He does not let it get too big when he adds the other instruments back in though. It almost seems like he is waiting for the right moment to shock your senses out of the peacefulness into which he has lulled you into. The work maintains this level of anticipation for quite some time. Slowly ebbing and flowing back and forth being careful not to let the climax come too soon. Playing with earlier themes and phrases and using different instrumentation to sequence the music. His running of the scales with the harp sets up a big climax, or what seems to be one, and then he brings the music straight back. It makes you want to scream for a large climax with all of the instruments blaring out in full volume. But alas, Mozart just toys with you, never fully giving you something to tie up the loose ends of sleepiness that you feel upon you.
All in all it is a decent piece, not one of Mozart’s greatest works though, but not horrible. How arrogant of me to say that about a piece of music that I could never write in a million years! It simply lacks a certain quality that Mozart was known for that I cannot put my finger on. It might be because he always leaves you wanting more in this piece so you feel let down at the end of it. It might also be because of all the sequencing throughout all of the different movements, which makes you feel like Mozart could have done more with it. I truly do not believe this to be among any Canons that are out there today. It is a beautiful piece, but it is found to be lacking a certain something in the end.
To be quite honest I am not sure how this reflects what we have talked about in class. I could probably come up with some sort of witty paragraph that tries to not show that point. But the truth is that I am not very well versed in the inner workings of Classical music. So I am not going to try to waste your time with an explanation that falls well short of the mark that you wanted me to aim for. The piece was nice, not great, but very lovely. I can see why it does not fall into the classical music Canon but I can also see that more people should be experiencing it. The opening is repetitious, but the final two movements take you on a wonderful little journey that makes the piece worth listening to.