First Movement: 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 featuring the 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 motifs, a and b. Motif a is the core of this movement, even being used in the development section. Motif b, on the other hand, is not developed but contains many rhetorical effects. Firstly, rhythmic and tonal stability is threatened by a chromatic ascent via syncopation in the melodic instrument (measures 28-30, a figure that can be considered a 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 shifts through various keys such as E minor and A minor, leading to the introduction of the second theme.

The second theme, as if still surprising the listener, begins in C major and features a march-like rhythmic motif. In measures 52-57, the syncopated chromatic ascent seen again in phrase a appears in the flute over an even longer range, intensifying the unstable emotion. This passage, while serving a rhetorical effect, also functions as a process for enharmonic and chromatic remote modulation, ultimately transitioning to A major. The transition to the codetta features both instruments playing brilliant virtuosic passages in a concertante style, concluding in A major at the codetta.

The development section begins in D minor, and motif a of the first theme transforms through various keys. In B-flat major, the main motif a1 is majestically played by the flute over an orchestral 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 thematic 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 the development of the second theme, which was not sufficiently treated in the development section. Particularly noteworthy is the digression to B-flat major seen 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 might also serve to compensate for the fact that the chromaticism (passus duriusculus) in the exposition was not treated at all in the exposition. Subsequently, after some development of previously introduced motifs (measures 176-186), the transition section is brilliantly recapitulated, leading to the coda.

How to Read the Formal Diagram

This diagram should be read from left to right for each row, and from top to bottom (first row, second row, etc.). Elements common to the musical structure are aligned vertically, allowing for an immediate understanding of where each motif appears. The roles of the numbers and symbols in each row are as follows:

• Row 1: Section Name
• Row 2: Measure Number
• Row 3: Motif and Motif Measure Number
• Row 4: Key
• Row 5: Cadence (ped indicates a dominant pedal point)

The "!" mark below the frame indicates places where the music intentionally deviates from the listener's expectation, such as a broken cadence.