Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Concerto for Flute, Harp, and...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra
The Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra in C major, K. 299/297c, is a concerto by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for flute, harp, and orchestra. It is one of only two true double concertos that he wrote (the other being his Piano Concerto No. 10; though his Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra could just as well be considered a "double concerto"), as well as the only piece of music by Mozart for the harp. The piece is one of the most popular such concertos in the repertoire, as well as often being found on recordings dedicated to either one of its featured instruments.
Mozart wrote the concerto in April 1778, during his seven-month sojourn in Paris. It was commissioned by Adrien-Louis de Bonnières, duc de Guînes (1735–1806), a flutist, for his use and for that of his eldest daughter, Marie-Louise-Philippine (1759–1796), a harpist, who was taking composition lessons from the composer, at the duke's home, the Hôtel de Castries. Mozart stated in a letter to his father that he thought the duke played the flute "extremely well" and that Marie's playing of the harp was "magnifique". As a composition student, however, Mozart found Marie thoroughly inept. The duke (until 1776, the comte de Guines), an aristocrat Mozart came to despise, never paid the composer for this work, and Mozart instead was offered only half the expected fee for the lessons, through de Guines' housekeeper. But he refused it. (For his tutoring, Mozart was owed six Louis d'or.) Little is known of the work's early performance history, though it seems probable that father and daughter played it first.

Flute : Guy Eshed is the principal flutist of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under its music director Lahav Shani. He held the same position with the Florence Opera House, the Berlin Staatskapelle, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Manchester Camerata and the Israel Northern Symphony, Haifa. He appeared as guest principal flutist with orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony, London Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, La Scala Opera House and Rotterdam Philharmonic.Since 2001 he is the solo flutist of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra under its founder Daniel Barenboim. He was a member of the chamber group Ensemble 360 (England), with whom he recorded for the ASV and Nimbus labels, and participated in various festivals. As a soloist he has performed with orchestras in Israel and Europe, including performances at the Salzburg Festival and the London Proms under Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez and Trevor Pinnock. He has received scholarships from the Topfer (Hamburg) and from the America-Israel Cultural foundations.

Harp : Julia Rovinsky was born in St. Petersburg. Julia Rovinsky is the Principal Harpist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. One of the leading figures on the Israel’s concert scene today, she appears regularly as a soloist with orchestras. As a recitalist and a member of chamber music ensembles she performed for several international music festivals in Israel and abroad, including The 5th Mexico Harp Festival, The 13th World Harp Congress, The 1st International Harp Festival Northern Lyre, The Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, Hamburg International Chamber Music Festival etc.…Enthusiastic to expand the harp repertoire, Julia cooperates with composers: J. Bardanashvili, B. Pigovat, O. Zahavi, B. Yusupov, Al Ravin, M. Wiesenberg, R. Weidberg and many others, giving premiere to the new compositions.Julia Rovinsky is the prize-winner of the All-Union Harp Competition (Moscow, 1988), her awards include the Israel Prime Minister Prize for best performance of Israeli Music (2002). Ms. Rovinsky has a solo and chamber music CD albums to her credit.Julia Rovinsky is the Professor of Harp at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music of the Tel-Aviv University. She teaches Master Classes in Germany, Russia, Argentina, Spain and USA, serves as jury member of international harp competitions. Since 2016 Ms. Rovinsky is the Music Director of the International Harp Contest in Israel.Graduated with honors from the N. Rimsky – Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory, studied with A. Varosyan, E. Sinizina and I. Schipulina.