Flute Concerto (Nielsen)
Encyclopedia
Carl Nielsen
's Concerto for Flute and orchestra [D.F.119] was written in 1926 for Gilbert Jespersen, who succeeded Paul Hagemann as flautist of the Copenhagen Wind quintet. The concerto, in two movements, was generally well received at its premiere in Paris
in October 1926 where Nielsen had introduced a temporary ending. The first complete version was played in Copenhagen
the following January. The flute concerto has now become part of the international repertoire.
expressly for this ensemble. The last movement of the wind quintet is a theme and variations depicting in music the personalities of the five players and their respective instruments, much in the manner that Elgar portrayed his friends in the Enigma Variations
. Promising he would write a concerto for each member of the quintet, he started with the flautist Holger Gilbert-Jespersen (1890-1975). As a result of poor health, he was only able to complete one more concerto before his death, the Clarinet Concerto, for the group's clarinetist, Aage Oxenvad
, which he completed in 1928.
Nielsen began work on the flute concerto while travelling in Germany and Italy in August 1926, intending it to be performed in Paris at a concert devoted to four of his works on 21 October. Unfortunately, as a result of a prolonged stomach complaint, he did not complete the work in time and had to introduce a temporary ending for its Paris premiere.
conducting, the work was positively received at its premiere in Paris at the Maison Gaveau on 21 October 1926, with the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
. The reviews were generally positive. Paul Le Flem wrote in Comoedia: "The Concerto for flute and orchestra, outstandingly performed by M. Holger-Gilbert Jespersen, is the most recent work by Mr Nielsen. It has piquancy, drive and does not lack humour." But Jan Meyerheim, writing in the Paris Telegram did not agree: "The Concerto for flute, well played by M. Jespersen, I did not care for at all; it was beyond my comprehension."
It was not until 25 January 1927 that the first complete version was performed at the Music Society
in Copenhagen. The flute concerto has now become part of the international Nielsen repertoire.
, the concerto is scored for an orchestra consisting of two oboe
s, two clarinet
s, two bassoon
s, two horn
s, bass trombone, timpani
and strings
. Moving on from the rather traditional style of the Violin Concerto, the Flute Concerto reflects the modernistic trends of the 1920s. One of Nielsen's later works, it lacks tonal stability, the longish first Allegro moderato movement varying between D minor, E-flat minor and F major. Solo passages, dialogues between solo flute and orchestra and a clarinet and bassoon conversation characterize the music. After an unexpected bass trombone disruption, the flute comes to the fore with a cantabile theme in E major. An orchestral cadenza leads back into the opening themes before terminating calmly in a key approximating G flat major. Nielsen describes the opening of the second movement, Allegretto, as having "a little nastiness in some notes cast forth by the orchestra but the atmosphere quickly relaxes again and when the solo flute enters it does so with childish innocence". The movement's melodious start fluctuates between Allegretto and Adagio before settling into a Tempo di marcia variation on the melodic opening. The bass trombone then introduces a final series of playful slides, bringing the work to an end.
Carl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen , , widely recognised as Denmark's greatest composer, was also a conductor and a violinist. Brought up by poor but musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he demonstrated his musical abilities at an early age...
's Concerto for Flute and orchestra [D.F.119] was written in 1926 for Gilbert Jespersen, who succeeded Paul Hagemann as flautist of the Copenhagen Wind quintet. The concerto, in two movements, was generally well received at its premiere in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in October 1926 where Nielsen had introduced a temporary ending. The first complete version was played in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
the following January. The flute concerto has now become part of the international repertoire.
Background
In 1921, Nielsen heard the Copenhagen Wind Quintet rehearsing some music by Mozart and was struck by the group's tonal beauty and musicianship. That same year, he wrote his Wind QuintetWind quintet
A wind quintet, also sometimes known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players . The term also applies to a composition for such a group....
expressly for this ensemble. The last movement of the wind quintet is a theme and variations depicting in music the personalities of the five players and their respective instruments, much in the manner that Elgar portrayed his friends in the Enigma Variations
Enigma Variations
Variations on an Original Theme for orchestra , Op. 36, commonly referred to as the Enigma Variations, is a set of a theme and its fourteen variations written for orchestra by Edward Elgar in 1898–1899. It is Elgar's best-known large-scale composition, for both the music itself and the...
. Promising he would write a concerto for each member of the quintet, he started with the flautist Holger Gilbert-Jespersen (1890-1975). As a result of poor health, he was only able to complete one more concerto before his death, the Clarinet Concerto, for the group's clarinetist, Aage Oxenvad
Aage Oxenvad
Aage Oxenvad was a Danish clarinetist who played in the Royal Danish Orchestra from 1909. Carl Nielsen wrote his Clarinet Concerto for Oxenvad who played at its premiere in 1928.-Early life:...
, which he completed in 1928.
Nielsen began work on the flute concerto while travelling in Germany and Italy in August 1926, intending it to be performed in Paris at a concert devoted to four of his works on 21 October. Unfortunately, as a result of a prolonged stomach complaint, he did not complete the work in time and had to introduce a temporary ending for its Paris premiere.
Reception
With his son-in-law, Emil TelmányiEmil Telmányi
Emil Telmányi, b. 22 June 1892 in Arad, then in the Kingdom of Hungary, d. 13 June 1988 in Holte, Denmark was a Hungarian violinist who invented the Bach bow, designed to play and sustain three or four notes on a violin for Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin...
conducting, the work was positively received at its premiere in Paris at the Maison Gaveau on 21 October 1926, with the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
The Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire was a symphony orchestra established in Paris in 1828. It gave its first concert on 9 March 1828 with music by Beethoven, Rossini, Meifreid, Rode and Cherubini....
. The reviews were generally positive. Paul Le Flem wrote in Comoedia: "The Concerto for flute and orchestra, outstandingly performed by M. Holger-Gilbert Jespersen, is the most recent work by Mr Nielsen. It has piquancy, drive and does not lack humour." But Jan Meyerheim, writing in the Paris Telegram did not agree: "The Concerto for flute, well played by M. Jespersen, I did not care for at all; it was beyond my comprehension."
It was not until 25 January 1927 that the first complete version was performed at the Music Society
Musikforeningen
Musikforeningen in Copenhagen was Denmark's most important concert venue in the 19th century. It operated from 1838 to 1931 but it was especially under the leadership of Niels Gade that it became a meeting place for the city's music life with its own symphony orchestra and choir. Carl Nielsen was...
in Copenhagen. The flute concerto has now become part of the international Nielsen repertoire.
Music
In addition to the solo fluteFlute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, the concerto is scored for an orchestra consisting of two oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, two clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s, two bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, two horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s, bass trombone, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
and strings
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
. Moving on from the rather traditional style of the Violin Concerto, the Flute Concerto reflects the modernistic trends of the 1920s. One of Nielsen's later works, it lacks tonal stability, the longish first Allegro moderato movement varying between D minor, E-flat minor and F major. Solo passages, dialogues between solo flute and orchestra and a clarinet and bassoon conversation characterize the music. After an unexpected bass trombone disruption, the flute comes to the fore with a cantabile theme in E major. An orchestral cadenza leads back into the opening themes before terminating calmly in a key approximating G flat major. Nielsen describes the opening of the second movement, Allegretto, as having "a little nastiness in some notes cast forth by the orchestra but the atmosphere quickly relaxes again and when the solo flute enters it does so with childish innocence". The movement's melodious start fluctuates between Allegretto and Adagio before settling into a Tempo di marcia variation on the melodic opening. The bass trombone then introduces a final series of playful slides, bringing the work to an end.