Flute Concerto

Carl Nielsen's Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (FS 119) was written in 1926 for Holger 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 become part of the international repertoire. Background In 1921, Nielsen heard the Copenhagen Wind Quintet rehearsing music by Mozart and was struck by the group's tonal beauty and musicianship. That same year, he wrote his Wind Quintet 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.