Haydn: Violin Concerto No. 3 in A major, Hob.VIIa:3 'Melker Konzert'

Following his critically acclaimed recording of all the Mozart concertos, Giuliano Carmignola fulfills his long-held wish to record the unjustly neglected violin concertos of Joseph Haydn. Carmignola’s technical precision, disciplined musicality and gorgeous tone bring every one of the composer’s intentions to vivid life. His musical collaborators here, the remarkable Orchestre des Champs-Élysées − known for performing repertoire from Haydn to Mahler on period instruments − makes an ideal partner.

After Haydn became vice-Kapellmeister to the Esterházy family in 1761, he soon realised that he had at his disposal some remarkable musicians in the orchestra at the court. In his Symphonies 6, 7 and 8 he had given the principal musicians significant solo parts. Although he didn’t repeat this in later symphonies, he produced a series of concertos for violinist Luigi Tomasini, cellist Joseph Weigl and others.

These works lay unknown throughout the 19th century, and only came to light in the first part of the 20th – in fact the famous D major Cello Concerto (now one of the most popular of Haydn’s works and one of the ‘great’ cello concertos) wasn’t discovered until the early 1950s.

New booklet notes by Haydn authority David Threasher.

‘The recorded quality is lifelike, surfaces are completely silent – save for the impeccable playing of these splendid artists.’ Gramophone, October 1981 (violin concertos)

New recording from August 2008, made on period instruments.

L’Arte Dell’Arco was founded in 1994, and has rapidly built a reputation as one of the world’s leading Barock ensembles. They have worked with Cecilia Bartoli, Pieter Wispelwey and Christopher Hogwood. They have recorded for CPO, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, and Brilliant Classics

Haydn’s violin concertos are early works dating from the 1760s. The First in C was only discovered in 1909 in the archives of the publishers Breitkopf – 100 years after the composer’s death. The First and Third concertos (the second is lost) were composed for the Italian violinist Luigi Tomasini, who, in 1761 was the concertmaster of the court chapel at Esterhaza. Doubtless his considerable skills influenced the writing for the solo parts as it both concertos are indebted to the Italian school, with Vivaldian sequences, and in the case of the First concerto, a delicious slow movement.

The Fourth Concerto in G is a very different work in style, and it is doubtful that it was written for Tomasini. More likely (and it is by no means certain that the work is actually Haydn’s – it just has enough ‘finger prints’ to be attributed to him) it was composed for the leader of the Morzin orchestra. It is the most old-fashioned of the three concertos on this CD, but nonetheless contains some lovely moments, especially the slow movement and the restless finale.

Of the nine violin concertos at one time ascribed to Haydn only four were genuine, and one of the four is lost. With their considerable use of the relatively higher register of the violin, chains of dotted notes, double stopping and ornamental figuration, the Concertos were written to showcase the considerable virtuosity of the principal violin in Haydn’s orchestra, Luigi Tomasini. Gold medalist of the 2006 Indianapolis International Violin Competition and recipient of several of the competition’s special awards, Augustin Hadelich has established himself as one of the most eloquent of the new generation of violinists.