Haydn: Concertos

Read About This Recording

Of the three concertos performed on this recording, two have spent considerable time under scrutiny as to whether they are, in fact, Joseph Haydn originals. But what is great art without great mystery, after all? And certainly, we have great art in these compositions featuring some very talented artists, backed by the now-familiar Orchestre Jean-Francois Paillard.

The first work on this disc, Haydn's Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in D Major, earned its certificate of authenticity just over 50 years ago when the composer's signature was discovered on the manuscript in 1951. Haydn himself was 51 when he wrote this work in 1783, his first cello concerto, for a musician in Prince Nikolaus' Esterházy Orchestra. Here, cellist André Navarra ably handles the music's intricacies with tenderness, broad emotion and soaring artistry.

"When you play an Andante, people have to cry," trumpeter Maurice André has said, and he aims to deliver the goods on the middle section of the Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra in E-flat Major. This work is a beautiful piece, written by a 64-year-old Haydn for his friend, the innovative trumpeter Anton Weidinger. Before Weidinger developed a keyed trumpet, which would later evolve into the modern day valved trumpet, musicians were limited to a range of very high pitches by simply altering lip pressure. Haydn's concerto exploited Weidinger's newfound lower register in this concerto and André, whose status as one of the leading artists on his instrument is impossible to doubt, once again offers up a perfectly enchanting performance.

The last concerto on this disc is Haydn's Concerto for Two Horns and Orchestra in E-flat, a charming piece, highly melodic and beautifully performed by soloists Georges Barboteu and Gilbert Coursier. Some have speculated, however, that the work may have been written by Antonio Rosetti, for a careful listen to the music seems to bear out Rosetti's style almost perfectly. It would not have been uncommon for Rosetti to issue the concerto under Haydn's name to boost sales; the practice was fairly commonplace in his day. Regardless, it bears Haydn's name to this day and the work loses none of its glory in this recording.

—Elaine Sutcliffe

Quotes

"(André is) undoubtedly the best trumpet player but he's not from our world." —Herbert von Karajan

Contents

Concerto for Cello & Orchestra in D Major, Hob.VIIb:2; Concerto for Trumpet & Orchestra in E-flat Major, Hob.VIIe:I; Concerto for 2 Horns & Orchestra in E-flat Major, Hob.VIId:2.

André Navarra, Cello; Maurice André, Trumpet; Georges Barboteu, Gilbert Coursier, Horns; Orchestre de Chambre de la Radiodiffusion Sarroise; Jean-François Paillard Chamber Orchestra; Jean-François Paillard, Karl Ristenpart, Conductors.