In the winter of 1777 when Mozart was visiting Mannheim, he became very friendly with various wind players whose playing he thought was brilliant. One of these, flutist Johan Baptiste Wendling, had even gone so far as to try to get Mozart a position with Karl Theodor, Elector Palatine. When no position was available and it seemed Mozart would have to leave Mannheim, Wendling industriously procured commissions for him.

One such commission came from wealthy Dutch surgeon and accomplished amateur flutist Ferdinand Dejean, who requested what the composer referred to in 1777 as “three short, simple concertos and a couple of quartets for flute” for which the fee was to be 200 gulden. By the time Dejean left for Paris on February 15, 1778, Mozart had completed two full-fledged concertos (though one was an arrangement of an earlier oboe concerto) and three quartets (though until relatively recently the C major Flute Quartet was not authenticated as dating from then because of a quirk in paper studies). He was chagrined, nonetheless, to receive only 96 gulden, saying it went against their agreement.

Mozart’s father then surmised how many compositions the original commission must have entailed, based on the fact that his son had received less than half of his fee, and sent an angry letter berating him for his laziness. Yet the younger Mozart cannot be accused of lying about the scope of the commission to please his father, as has been repeated for more than a century—in fact his references to the commission vary as to number and type of composition. Rather, there simply remained an unknown number of works to be completed and Wolfgang wanted payment in advance. This suggests that Dejean would be crossing paths with Mozart after Paris—and indeed Dejean, a fellow Freemason, took up residence in Vienna. It is even possible that the Fourth Flute Quartet (associated with Gottfried von Jacquin) may have been played by Dejean and possibly even counted as an extension of the earlier Dejean commission.

But to return to Mozart’s response to his father’s angry letter, it contains a line as an excuse that has grieved flute lovers ever since: “You know that I am quite powerless when I am obliged to write for an instrument I cannot bear.” Is this really what he meant? How can he have written such idiomatic, engaging music for an instrument he supposedly did not like? And did he not greatly admire the flute playing of his friend Wendling?

The G major Concerto is a charming work and is by no means “short” and “simple.” The first movement’s opening tutti (ensemble) section presents the forthright main theme and hints at a second theme, but closes with a new, rhythmic arpeggiated passage that returns at important junctures. After the flute’s elaborated exposition of the majestic theme, a bit of the arpeggiated tutti returns to launch the second theme. One of the many ways Mozart displays the soloist’s prowess is in frequent wide leaps, which tests the ability to project in the low register and to move quickly between registers. Mozart provides an opportunity for a solo cadenza just before the arpeggiated tutti closes the movement.

The Adagio ma non troppo is one of those leisurely, exquisite movements at which Mozart was so adept. He follows slow-movement sonata form, in which an exposition and recapitulation are separated by a short episode rather than a full development section. Of special note here is the velvety sonority achieved by having the upper strings play muted and the lower strings sometimes in gentle pizzicato. Throughout the flute shows its ability to play lyrically and ornament gracefully. Here, too, Mozart provides an opportunity for a cadenza toward the end.

The closing sonata-rondo movement brings in the flute right at the outset. Each return of this delightful refrain brings subtle variants to keep the ear engaged. Mozart introduces the contrasting minor mode episode with a little hint that “something is up” by varying the little tutti scale figures that lead up to it. The placement of the cadenza here before the recapitulation allows this section to proceed without interruption and even to end in quiet elegance.

—©Jane Vial Jaffe