I was working this song up for a recital but I couldn't find any recordings of it. Also I wasn't sure how fast it was supposed to go. My private lessons teacher insisted apon 90 but I want it to go about 110-120

I tunes has

Jean Pierre Rampal

Mozart flute Concertos with the Isreal Philharmonic Orchestra

Just go to itunes and search Rampal.

My flute professor takes the Mozart Concerto in G at 116.

rather than worry how fast to play it, make sure this "concerto" is at a speed where it is clean and the listener is able to digest all the notes.

I played this last year and my tempo was 116, but as mentioned above, the tempo you should play is at which you can play it cleanly and sound good.

I think it helps if you set a goal tempo for yourself to eventually reach

ummmm..
I would not want to attempt to play any piece any faster than one could handle the performance properly. Nor would I want to play it so slowly that it doesn't work well musically.

But before we assume anything else.....
Which movement of which Concerto by Mozart are we talking about?

I was talking about the first movement. Today I played it with my piano player and I felt like it would never end. It dragged on and on I so badly wanted to speed it up but I stuck with it. Afterwards a friend of mine (flute performance major) heard me play it and said the slower tempo makes certain parts pop while others drag. But the fast tempo was entertaining throughout.

it is not a question of speed, it is a question of character...if you play slower and cleaner with some ingenuity and energy, it will sound faster, playing fast is not enough on its own..

"I was talking about the first movement."

Dear Afroburst,
Thanks for replying. Now you have actually narrowed it down to three possibilities.
Could you let me know what the key signature of that movement happens to contain. Any sharps?
The reason that I'm prying is that Mozart wrote three (Arguably) concertos for flute and the mood/tempo is somewhat different for each one.
K.313(285c)/K.314(285d)/K. 299(297c)

The other thing is that, like the others, I could assume it's the G major Concerto. I believe that I have three different recordings of Galway playing that piece.
At any rate:
K313

Pahud:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09apuEikT8Y

Rampal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KJBF_4nKSE

Claudio Barile:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5ut5cWYFC4

Your choice of tempo should probably be based on how well you can play the fast bits. Sure that the 16th notes need to be learned but also look at the first measure of the flute. Beat 2 to beat 3 needs to be played crisply but also when this motiv is played an octave lower a bit later. Still played just as crisp in the articulation. If you are able to double tongue, consider practicing the 16th note with the K tongue attack like this: T T kT T
or even reversing this to T K tK T. Something to consider.

Thank you Bilbo, it was the Rampal version that you had provided. The cadenza doesn't seem as impressive as I though ti would be. It seemed rushed to me. I think I'll play that bit slower.

Thanks for all your help

Hi Afroburst,

When going to auditions or submitting tapes, it's always a good idea to refer to "songs" as "pieces." Don't ever tell an advanced flute teacher that you're playing a "song."

It's also always good to tell the jurors the full name of the piece: Mozart Concerto #<number> for Flute in <key>. This shows that you know the repertoire.

well said Travel

"Don't ever tell an advanced flute teacher that you're playing a "song.""

Unless of course, you are actually playing a song.

Some sort of a definition of a Song:
"A song is a musical composition. In the classical tradition, songs contain vocal parts that are performed,'sung,' and feature words (lyrics), commonly accompanied by musical instruments (exceptions would be a cappella songs). The words of songs are typically of a poetic, rhyming nature, although they may be religious verses or free prose. The words are the lyrics."

That being said, the commonly accepted flute repertoire generally contains nothing that should be called a song.

"That being said, the commonly accepted flute repertoire generally contains nothing that should be called a song."

Very true. But a flutist CAN perform an arrangement of a song: "I'm going to play my own arrangement for flute of Schubert's 'Die Forelle.'"

Yes ;-) and I often do practice songs.
Many come to mind during the Christmas season.