Oboe Concerto (Mozart)
Encyclopedia
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's
Oboe Concerto in C major, K. 314 was originally composed in Spring or Summer 1777 for oboist
Giuseppe Ferlendis
(1755–1802) from Bergamo
, then reworked by the composer as a concerto
for flute
in D major
in 1778. The concerto
is a widely-studied piece for both instruments and is one of the more important concerti for the oboe
.
, the piece is arranged for a standard set of orchestral strings
, two oboe
s, and two horns
.
The piece itself is divided into three movements
:
is an adaptation of the original oboe concerto. Dutch
flautist
Ferdinand De Jean (1731–1797) commissioned Mozart for four flute quartets and three flute concerti; which Mozart only completed three quartets and only one new flute concerto. Instead of creating a new second concerto, Mozart rearranged
the oboe concerto he had written a year earlier as the second flute concerto, although with substantial changes for it to fit with what the composer deemed flute-like. However, De Jean did not pay Mozart for this concerto because it was based on the oboe concerto.
was used. Also, Einstein noted the two scores in D Major and C Major of the K. 314 Concerto in the Library of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde
in Vienna
, which led to the belief that the oboe concerto was the origin of the flute concerto. The orchestra parts of the composition and solo oboe part in C were rediscovered by Bernhard Paumgartner in Salzburg, in 1920.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Oboe Concerto in C major, K. 314 was originally composed in Spring or Summer 1777 for oboist
Oboist
An oboist is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the cor anglais, oboe d'amore, shawm and oboe musette....
Giuseppe Ferlendis
Giuseppe Ferlendis
Giuseppe Ferlendis was an Italian oboist and composer. In 1777, he was appointed oboist at the Court Chapel of Salzburg, with a yearly stipend of 540 florins . He died in Lisbon...
(1755–1802) from Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
, then reworked by the composer as a concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
for flute
Flute
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...
in D major
D major
D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
in 1778. The concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
is a widely-studied piece for both instruments and is one of the more important concerti for the 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...
.
Movements
As with his Flute Concerto No. 1Flute Concerto No. 1 (Mozart)
The Flute Concerto No. 1 in G major was written in 1778 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Commissioned by the Dutch flautist Ferdinand De Jean in 1777, Mozart was supposed to provide four flute quartets and three flute concerti, yet he only completed two of the three concerti: K. 313 being the first....
, the piece is arranged for a standard set of orchestral strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
, 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, and two horns
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 ....
.
The piece itself is divided into three movements
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
:
- I. Allegro aperto
- II. Adagio non troppo
- III. RondoRondoRondo, and its French equivalent rondeau, is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also to a character-type that is distinct from the form...
: Allegretto
Flute Concerto No. 2
The Flute Concerto No. 2 in D MajorD major
D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
is an adaptation of the original oboe concerto. Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
flautist
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
Ferdinand De Jean (1731–1797) commissioned Mozart for four flute quartets and three flute concerti; which Mozart only completed three quartets and only one new flute concerto. Instead of creating a new second concerto, Mozart rearranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
the oboe concerto he had written a year earlier as the second flute concerto, although with substantial changes for it to fit with what the composer deemed flute-like. However, De Jean did not pay Mozart for this concerto because it was based on the oboe concerto.
Origin
While the original version for oboe had been lost before Alfred Einstein wrote Mozart: His Character, His Work, the oboe origin of the flute concerto was suspected then, in part because of references in letters to a now-missing oboe concerto, as Einstein wrote, and of similar details in the orchestral string lines which suggested a transpositionTransposition (music)
In music transposition refers to the process, or operation, of moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval.For example, one might transpose an entire piece of music into another key...
was used. Also, Einstein noted the two scores in D Major and C Major of the K. 314 Concerto in the Library of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde
The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien , was founded in 1812 by Joseph von Sonnleithner, general secretary of the Court Theatre, Vienna, Austria. Its official charter, drafted in 1814, states that the purpose of the Society was to promote music in all its facets...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, which led to the belief that the oboe concerto was the origin of the flute concerto. The orchestra parts of the composition and solo oboe part in C were rediscovered by Bernhard Paumgartner in Salzburg, in 1920.
External links
- Performance of Flute Concerto by the Gardner Chamber Orchestra with soloist Paula Robison from the Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumThe Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
in MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format