Haydn: Keyboard Concerto No. 5 in C major with strings, Hob. XVIII:5

2CDs for price of 1

Performed on period instruments with the “Neue Dusseldorfer Hofmusik” under the direction of Mary Utiger who also accompanies on the piano. A rare musical experience.

Joseph Haydn’s concertos for keyboard instruments contain some of his most personable and readily enjoyable music.

Their lively fast movements framing lyrical Andantes, Adagios and Largos, never fail to delight with their unaffected virtuosity and galant charm.

Composed at a crucial juncture in the keyboard concerto’s development as a popular genre, Haydn’s contributions recall comparable works by Baroque masters such as Handel, match the Rococo grace of J. C. Bach, and occasionally point towards the larger-scale Classical piano concertos of Mozart.

“Ketil Haugsand, a Norwegian harpsichordist with considerable experience on the European early-music scene….[plays] music that blossoms with performances of sensuous elegance… very appealing.”The New York Times

This boxed set includes all the surviving concertos of Haydn as well as some of the works which have been attributed to the composer.

Haydn is not primarily known for his concertos, yet beacons such as the Trumpet Concerto and the D major Cello Concerto remain justly and universally popular. Included alongside these works are five concertos for two lire organizzate (performed on two recorders/two flutes/flute and oboe), ten keyboard concertos (performed on harpsichord/organ/piano), the three violin concertos, and the ‘little’ D major Cello Concerto – among others.

This wonderfully varied set thus throws a spotlight on a less-celebrated area of Haydn’s extraordinary output.