Romantic Flute Concertos

Flute, the instrument which was well-loved by composers of the Baroque era, gave way to piano, violin, and cello in the 19^th century, just like other wind instruments. Those flute concertos which were written around that time now rarely appear in repertoires and on recordings, while some have not yet been released and exist only in the form of manuscripts. The concert’s programme includes four such concertos, three of which will be performed at the Concert Hall for the first time.

Franz Danzi and Peter von Winter were the precursors of Romanticism, who started their careers back in the 18^th century, in the famous Mannheim Orchestra. Their concertos included into the concert’s programme have a lot of similarities – both were written in the same key, bear resemblance to Mozart’s work (although the Romantic motives are also quite prominent), both have lyrical intermezzos and final polonaises with classical codas in major.

Theobald Böhm was a flautist, composer, and music master, to whom this year’s festival is dedicated. He studied composition under Winter and, undoubtedly, upholds the spirit of Romanticism in his works. The first of his published works, Flute Concertino, is dedicated to Anton Bernhard Fürstenau. Fürstenau was a famous flautist and composer of his day, with whom Böhm successfully completed in flute virtuosity. Böhm’s debut opus cannot be described as unripe. He demonstrates a deep knowledge of the flute’s wonderful characteristics.

The last concerto of the programme, Carl Reinecke’s Flute Concerto, was composed in the 20^th century. Reinecke, who was patronised by Mendelssohn in his youth, saw the times when new names became prominent in the world of music (Scriabin’s Le Poème de l'extase and Richard Strauss’s Elektra among other works were released the same year as Reinecke’s concerto). Reinecke, as if unaware of the changing times, pays his respects to the Romantic traditions of the previous century. According to a Gramophone magazine critic, his concerto "makes amends for the fact that Brahms never wrote a concerto for flute.”