Description
During Mozart’s stay in Paris in 1778, Baron Grimm introduced the composer to Adrien-Louis Bonniéres de Souastre, Duc de Guines. Mozart reported that de Guines, a former French ambassador to England, played “the flute incomparably well”, while his daughter played “the harp magnificently”. Although the little Duchess took composition lessons from Mozart. He wrote the Concerto for Flute and Harp for father and daughter.
Although the auto-graph is not dated, certain passages in Mozart’s letters suggest that he wrote it towards April 1778. The work is a splendid example of charming salon music, a “galanterie”, albeit a Mozartian one, which makes only moderate demands on the technical skills of the two soloists. The orchestra is small.
