The date of composition is unknown. The first edition was published between 1810 and 1815. Although the current title is Flute Sonata, Op. 50[1], the cover of the first edition reads Sonata for Pianoforte with Obbligato Flute or Violin[2]. Furthermore, it states, "Gradual Periodical Collection of Pieces for Ladies, Year 1, Volume 2." At the time when the piano began to spread, generally excellent piano practitioners were women who spent long hours at home and thus had ample practice time. Therefore, the substantial piano part throughout the work was likely intended for women, while the flute or violin parts were typically played by men or children. In this way, this work can be regarded not as a flute solo piece but as a type of chamber music. According to the performance practice of the time, performers could choose whether the obbligato part was for flute or violin. This was a customary notation used by publishers to anticipate greater profits, allowing them to target enthusiasts who played various instruments. Since it targets amateurs, this piece does not feature string-specific techniques such as double stops. The range is adapted to that of the flute. Therefore, it is presumed that Hummel himself composed the piece assuming that a flutist would play the obbligato. Although obbligato, the flute (or violin) plays a sufficiently concertante role, and in the transition sections, rapid scale passages are exchanged with the piano.

Movement 1: Allegro con brio, D major, 4/4 time

The first movement is written in sonata form. The 4-bar introduction begins with a brilliant tutti by flute and piano, a typical gesture of contemporary symphonies. Subsequently, the first theme is presented by the flute. The first theme largely consists of two motives, a and b. Motive a is a core motive of this movement, used even in the development section. Motive b, on the other hand, is not developed but contains many rhetorical effects. First, rhythmic and tonal stability is threatened by a syncopated chromatic ascent played by the melodic instrument (measures 28-30, a figure that can be regarded as passus duriusculus in musical rhetoric). This unsettling musical premonition becomes even clearer with the sudden modulation from A major to B-flat major in measure 31. From B-flat major, the music changes through various keys such as E minor and A minor, leading to the second theme.

The second theme, as if still surprising the listener, begins in C major and features a march-like rhythmic motive. From measures 52-57, the syncopated chromatic ascent, previously seen in phrase a, reappears in the flute over an even longer range, intensifying the unstable emotion. This passage functions not only as a rhetorical effect but also as a process for a chromatic distant modulation using enharmonic equivalents, ultimately transitioning to A major. The transition to the codetta features both instruments playing brilliant concertante phrases, concluding in A major at the codetta.

The development section begins in D minor, and motive a of the first theme transforms through various keys. In B-flat major, the main motive a1 is played majestically by the flute over an orchestral-like tremolo played by the piano, but it is soon repeated in other keys, leading to E-flat major. In measure 118, in this key established by a cadence, the piano plays the first theme. At this point, the listener gets the impression that the recapitulation has begun, but it is actually a "false" recapitulation. The "true" recapitulation finally begins after a new transition in B minor.

The recapitulation features a development of the second theme, which was not sufficiently treated in the development section. Particularly noteworthy is the digression to B-flat major in measure 170, where the rhythm of the second theme is placed in the bass, and a previously unheard contrapuntal chromatic melody strongly impresses the listener. The chromatic treatment in this section may also serve to compensate for the fact that the chromaticism (passus duriusculus) in the exposition was not fully explored. Subsequently, after some development of previously introduced motives (measures 176-186), the transition section is brilliantly recapitulated, leading to the coda.

How to read the formal diagram

This diagram is read from left to right for each row, and from top to bottom, following row 1, row 2, and so on. Due to the structural commonalities of the piece, shared elements are vertically aligned, allowing for an immediate understanding of where each motive appears. The roles of the numbers and other elements in each row are as follows:

• Row 1: Section name
• Row 2: Measure numbers
• Row 3: Motive and motive measure numbers
• Row 4: Key
• Row 5: Cadence (ped indicates a dominant pedal point)

The "!" symbol outside the box at the bottom indicates points where the music intentionally deviates from the listener's expectation, such as a broken cadence.

To enlarge the formal diagram (a "redirect warning" may appear, but it is safe to proceed to the link.)

Movement 2: Andante, D minor, 6/8 time

The second movement is in two parts. In the first part, an instrumental theme (motive a) is presented based on the opening two-bar motive. This motive is primarily played by the piano, with the flute responding to the piano's motive as an obbligato. The melody then shifts to a vocal style, and the mournful song in D minor transitions to the relative major, transforming into a pastoral, simple aria (motive b). The second part plays the instrumental theme from the first part in F major, but gradually modulates, returning to the main key's theme (a''). Here, for the first time, the flute also plays the motive, leading to a climax with strong tension. This motive is developed using an ascending chromatic figure, similar to what was seen in the first movement (flute and piano right hand). Furthermore, this chromaticism, interrupted by dotted sixteenth rests, also exhibits characteristics of suspiratio, a rhetorical figure expressing emotional agitation and urgent feelings (also seen in Mozart's Fantasia in D minor, K. 397). It expresses strong emotion through the collision of minor seconds, the sixteenth notes in the piano's right hand struck like heartbeats, and the close imitation between the piano's left hand and the flute. Although this unstable mood is temporarily resolved by settling in D minor, it modulates to A major in the coda. This postpones the completion of the movement's drama, and the expectation of resolution is deferred to the fifth measure of the third movement.

Movement 3: Rondo pastorale, D major, 2/4 time

The third movement is written in sonata-rondo form. It begins with a martial rhythm in the piano, but immediately, a "pastoral" character is presented by the flute's theme and the piano's rustic pedal point, reminiscent of bagpipes. However, it unexpectedly comes to a half cadence on the dominant of the parallel minor, B minor (with a fermata), abruptly shifting to an overture-like style with a Mozartean humorous touch. This interruption using a fermata is a rhetorical figure called abruptio, where silence is placed within a texture where it is not expected. While improvisational ornamentation is certainly possible here, emphasizing the interruption highlights the sudden change in the subsequent musical idea, contrasting the pastoral character with the urban, theatrical character. This theme is repeated multiple times, and at the fermatas, piano fioritura is notated thereafter.

Incidentally, the flute's theme (a1) is an anagram of the famous contrapuntal theme (the C-D-F-E sequence developed by Mozart in his Symphony No. 41 in C major, "Jupiter", K. 551) that is later developed (in solfège: [So-] Re-Fa-Mi-Do = [A-] E-G-F#-D). This pastoral theme transforms into the aforementioned humorous character and is taken over by the piano. In the transition to the second theme, a figure similar to the "Jupiter" motive is emphasized by syncopation (measures 33-34, D-C#-G-F#, in solfège: C-B-F-E). This motive was frequently used in Mozart's symphonies and masses. It originated from Gregorian chant and was widely known in the 18th century as the opening of the hymn Lucis creator. It is also a common figure in the contrapuntal style of Fux, which Mozart studied and used to teach his own pupils, appearing in the works of dozens of composers from Palestrina to Brahms. Hummel himself used it in a piano piece (the third movement of Piano Sonata, Op. 20) prior to this sonata.

The second theme in the dominant key, in contrast to the preceding theme, consists of a fluent, virtuosic figure made of scales and arpeggios, and its flow is uninterrupted. The piano and flute play arpeggios and scales in a concertante manner.

In the development section, Fux's theme appears in G major. The harmonic progression after the G major C-D-F-E motive is very similar to the first theme of the fourth movement of Mozart's Symphony No. 41 in C major, "Jupiter", K. 551, and can be seen as an homage to his teacher, Mozart. This theme gradually modulates through E-flat major, F major, and G minor.

After the Jupiter motive is presented four times across two phrases (c1, c2), the development through motivic work begins from measure 113. The developed flute motive is a variation of the Jupiter motive, and from the melodic contour (descending leap ⇒ stepwise ascent), it can also be considered an expanded form of the first theme, placing the "Jupiter" motive within a consistent context from the exposition.

In the recapitulation, the first theme again contrasts its pastoral and buffa characters; in the latter, the flute accompanies the piano with repeated notes. In the subsequent transition, the allusion to the "Jupiter" motive heard in the exposition is no longer present, likely because it was sufficiently developed in the development section. Maintaining the brilliant character of the second theme, the climax of the movement is led, and after the perfect cadence is repeatedly postponed, building anticipation, the coda finally enters at measure 185.

The coda recalls the first theme, supported by a rustic drone, and then concludes brilliantly with the cheerful musical idea characterizing a'.

References

Books

• Kroll, Mark. Johann Nepomuk Hummel: A Musician’s Life and World. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2007.
• Zimmerschied, Dieter. Thematisches Verzeichnis der Werke von Johann Nepomuk Hummel. Hofheim am Taunus: F. Hofmeister, c1971.

Primary Sources

• Hummel, Johann Nepomuk. Sonate: pour le pianoforte avec accompagnement de flûte ou violon op. 50. c1817. daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/0002/bsb00022158/images/
  Accessed 2019-01-12

Scores

• Hummel, Johann Nepomuk. Sonata in D-Dur für Flöte und Klavier op. 50. Edited by Helmut Riessberger. Wien: Doblinger, 1964.

[1] Hummel, Johann Nepomuk.Sonata in D-Dur für flöte und Klavier op. 50. Edited by Helmut Riessberger. Wien:Doblinger, 1964.

[2] TITLE: Répertoire de Musique pour les Dames Ouvrage périodique et progressif . . . composée par JEAN NEP. HUMMEL. Ⅰ. Année, Cahier 2 chez l’Auteur, Brandstadt No. 671[on top of first page of music] Sonata per pianoforte con Flauto o Violino obligato*

*Mark Kroll, Johann Nepomuk Hummel : a musician’s life and world. (Lanham, Md. :Scarecrow Press, 2007), pp.360