Flute & Harp Concerto in C Major

In early 1778 the 22-year-old Mozart was living in Paris, scouring the French capital for lucrative musical opportunities. One job he picked up was teaching composition to a rich aristocrat’s daughter, who was a fine harpist. The father was an amateur flautist, and commissioned Mozart to write a Flute and Harp Concerto for the pair to play together. Unfortunately the duke reneged on payment, and Mozart received nothing for his efforts. The Concerto’s opening movement is in the composer’s sunniest mode, the flute’s extroverted affability offset by the harp’s slightly more demure demeanour. A short, mid-movement flirtation with the minor key does little to ruffle the overall atmosphere of civilised wellbeing. The slow movement is balmily lyrical, the flute contentedly taking the melodic lead, with fine-spun commentary on the harp. Both soloists snap to attention in the lively, dance-inspired finale, trading flourishes as the music trips to a delightfully untroubled conclusion.