Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91) was an influential Austrian composer who shares the fame of three great geniuses with Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) in the late eighteenth century, the Classical period of Western music. Around this time, the style of Classical concertos had reached its mature stage. Even though Mozart did not compose many works for flute, the existing works are essential repertoire for any flutists for their light and fresh music styles, allowing the performers to demonstrate the tuneful timbre of woodwind instruments and their nimbly splendid techniques.

“The Flute Concerto No.1 in G Major” (K. 313) was a work of Mozart commissioned by a wealthy Dutch amateur flutist, Ferdinand De Jean, in 1777; it was then completed in 1778 and contains three movements as all the classical works that time. The first movement is an allegro in sonata form, which showcases highly skilled performance in terms of grand and colorful musical periods, the change of tonality, the elaboration of the themes and the motifs, and the virtuosic candenza. The next is a lento which makes a contrast to the previous movement with a slow, soft yet broad-ranged melody. Finally, in the third movement, the concerto is completed with a vivid and brisk rondo.

Taking this concerto as my major study case, in this thesis, with a well-organized literature review, a part will conduct an in-depth investigation and analysis of the style and the characteristics of this concerto in Classical period. Then, through a detailed analysis of form, I will give an interpretation of Mozart’s musical syntax and the strategy of his style. It is hoped that this thesis will offer an insight into the essence of his works for flute, and provides further references for future performances on Mozart’s works or related researches.