HAYDN Violoncello Concerto in C major, HobVIIb:1

Music Minus One Cello Deluxe 2-CD Set-Franz Josef haydn's beautiful Concerto in C major for Violoncello and orchestra is a treat as well as an absolute requirement for any serious cellist. Strangely though it lay dormant and unknown in a Prague library until it was dicovered in 1961 and brought to light after nearly two hundred years! Since its reintroduction it has become one of the most popular of all violoncello concerti and deservedly so. This concerto was most likely written in the mid-1760s while Haydn was Kapellmeister to Prince Esterhazy. Its splendid memorable themes perfectly showcase the solo instrument against a beautifully and sensitively orchestrated backdrop all of which come together toillustrate Papa Haydn's mastery of form melody and orchestration. Its lovely classical charm beautifully captured here by virtuoso roman Wiszniowski and the Plovdiv Philharmonic will enchant you from beginning to end. Then play it yourself with maestro Todorov and the Plovdiv Philharmonic as your accompanists! This MMO learning and performance edition of one of the great classical cello masterpieces is not to be missed!

Haydn’s Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra in C major (Hob. VIIb:1) was probably composed between 1762 and 1765 when he was already director of music to Prince Esterh zy. It may have been writtenfor the cellist in the court Orchestra Joseph Weigl (1740-1820) for whom Haydn most likely also wrote the solo Cello parts in his early symphonies. Weigl was a member of the Esterh zy ensemble from 1761 to 1769 andthereafter served as a principle cellist in various Viennese ensembles.The concerto was rediscovered by Oldrich Pulkert who in 1961 found an eighteenth-century manuscript copy (Prag National Museum Fonds Radenin) andpublished the concerto in 1962. Previously the existence of this piece was known only through Haydn’s entry in his private list of works (the so-called ‘Entwurf’ [‘draft’] catalogue).The Orchestral setting ismodest: besides the Strings (with a non-obligato Bassoon doubling the Bass part) there are two Oboes and two Horns which are reserved almost exclusively for the tutti passages.This Piano reduction is based on the text givenin the complete edition of Haydn’s works as edited by the Joseph Haydn Institute Cologne (Joseph Haydn Werke Series III Vol.2 with Preface and Critical Report published by G. Henle Verlag Munich 1981). The Cello partin the Piano reduction is identical to that of the complete edition and thus follows the Prague source as closely as possible even in the expression marks and in certain peculiarities of notation.

C major-Concert for violoncello and orchestra. Urtext from: Joseph Haydn Werke G. Henle Verlag München

Concerto and ripieno part-Haydn's Symphony No.8 is the final piece in his triptych on the times of the day consisting of the symphonies Le Matin Le Midi and Le Soir (Hoboken I:6-8). The cycle originated in 1761 on a commission from Haydn's patron Prince Anton Esterházy. Whether the Prince was hoping for a counterpart to Vivaldi's famous concertos on the four seasons or pursued a different idea can no longer be determined. It was doubtless the purpose of these concertante symphonies to present to a select audience the Prince's chamber ensemble which had been assembled or expanded that spring as well as its new conductor. The pieces are laid out on a large scale full of pomp andsplendour and the scoring at times divided into thirteen separate parts offers virtually every player an opportunity to display his prowess as a soloist.At that time the Esterházy ensemble was made up of six or seven players of the violin or viola (the seventh was actually retained as a flautist) one player each of the violoncello and violone two oboists doubling on flute two horn players and a bassoonist. This listing includes Haydn himself who conducted the ensemble from the first violinist's desk. Contrary to a widely held belief there was no harpsichord. Indeed the only genres that employed a keyboard instrument at that time in the Viennese area were vocal - namely operas cantatas and church music.Urtext from Joseph Haydn WerkeFull score & parts (BA4673) available for sale

It was a chance visit to a second hand bookshop in Nottingham that set me on the trail of Rossini's now well-known Duetto for cello and double bass. But the story begins earlier than that. In the 1960s I was studying the double bass at the Royal College of Music with Adrian Beers who was at that time principal of the English Chamber Orchestra on the front desk of the Philharmonia Orchestra and a member of the Melos Ensemble of London (then one of the leading ensembles of the world). I was working on the 'Dragonetti Concerto' as most young players do and I wanted to find out a bit about it. My teacher said he thought the autograph manuscript might be in the British Library which was all the encouragement I needed to secure a pass to the Reading Room so I could go and see for myself. There sure enough I found a large collection of Dragonetti's autograph manuscripts together with other bound volumes relating to his life. The papers had been lovingly collated and annotated by Vincent Novello one of Dragonetti's closest friends then deposited in the library before his departure to Italy in 1848 two years after Dragonetti's death. One of the volumes included a lot of letters about various engagements and music festivals copies of orders for strings Dragonetti wanted from Italy details about paintings he wanted to buy and numerous invitations to private functions. The manuscript of the 'Dragonetti Concerto' of course wasn't among the papers we now know it to have been written by Edouard Nanny a century or so later. One name that came up regularly in the documents was that of Sir George Smart. Smart had been a violinist in Salomon's orchestra and had played for Haydn at his London concerts in the 1790s. As a child he had learnt much about music from his father who had in turn been present at many of Handel's rehearsals when he was preparing some of his major works for the first time. Smart was also a fine keyboard player becoming organist of the Chapel Royal in 1822. As a conductor

Haydn's Symphony No.8 is the final piece in his triptych on the times of the day consisting of the symphonies Le Matin Le Midi and Le Soir (Hoboken I:6-8). The cycle originated in 1761 on a commission from Haydn's patron Prince Anton Esterházy. Whether the Prince was hoping for a counterpart to Vivaldi's famous concertos on the four seasons or pursued a different idea can no longer be determined. It was doubtless the purpose of these concertante symphonies to present to a select audience the Prince's chamber ensemble which had been assembled or expanded that spring as well as its new conductor. The pieces are laid out on a large scale full of pomp andsplendour and the scoring at times divided into thirteen separate parts offers virtually every player an opportunity to display his prowess as a soloist.At that time the Esterházy ensemble was made up of six or seven players of the violin or viola (the seventh was actually retained as a flautist) one player each of the violoncello and violone two oboists doubling on flute two horn players and a bassoonist. This listing includes Haydn himself who conducted the ensemble from the first violinist's desk. Contrary to a widely held belief there was no harpsichord. Indeed the only genres that employed a keyboard instrument at that time in the Viennese area were vocal - namely operas cantatas and church music.Urtext from Joseph Haydn WerkeFull score & parts (BA4673) available for sale

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