Haydn: Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major, Hob. VIIb:1

Both of the marvellous cello concertos in this recording, written while Haydn was in the service of Prince Nikolaus Esterházy ‘The Magnificent’, have had checkered careers. In fact, had you asked at any point in the past 200 years how many cello concertos Haydn wrote, the answer would have varied from ‘None’ to ‘Six’. As things stand, these two concertos are the only genuine ones we have. Two others are probably lost; one is almost certainly not by Haydn, although its slow movement would not disgrace him; and one is probably the handiwork of the Czech virtuoso and composer David Popper. The two concertos now acknowledged to be the work of Haydn (and now ‘found’) marked Jian Wang’s debut recording for Deutsche Grammophon and have received much critical acclaim. They are staple repertoire for many a cellist.

American cellist Lynn Harrell furnishes clear proof that Vivaldi's cello concertos are unfairly overshadowed by the famous "Four Seasons": these scores full of melodic elegance and virtuosity laid the foundation stone for the entire genre, which was then developed further by Joseph Haydn.

A generous collection of Haydn Concertos, Overtures and Dances, this 2CD set offers the Philips recordings of the Cello Concertos and the Argo recordings of the remaining works. Although issued in various reissues, the Marriner/Argo Haydn Concertos have never before been offered collectively, and this collection offers a great opportunity to explore these recordings from 1966–69. Familiar works such as the E flat major Trumpet Concerto and the two Cello Concertos appear together with the little-known Organ Concerto. Also on offer are two sets of German Dances/Allemandes (both making their first appearance on CD) and a pair of Overtures, of which that for Acide e Galatea is a first-on-CD release.

Most of Haydn's concertos are early works, written in the years immediately before or after his engagement at the Esterhazy court in 1761. During that time, he composed four violin concertos, of which three-all except Hob.VIIa, No.2 in D major - survive, none of them in autograph form. Hob.VIIa No.3, in A major turned up only in 1949.

Leopold Hofmann (1738-1793) was regarded by his contemporaries as one of the most gifted and influential composers of his generation. Although a church musician by profession, Hofmann was also an important and prolific composer of instrumental music. His symphonies, concertos and chamber works were played all over Europe and the avidity with which they were collected is attested to by the large number of surviving manuscript copies. Hofmann was famed for his violin playing and several of his concertos were probably written for his own use. He held a number of important church music positions in Vienna, foremost among them, that of Kapellmeister at St Stephan's Cathedral (1772-1793) and also served for some years as Hofklaviermeister.