Cello Concerto No. 1 (Haydn)

The Cello Concerto No.1 in C Major by Joseph Haydn was composed around 1761–1765 for longtime friend Joseph Weigl, then the principal cellist of Prince Nicolaus's Esterházy Orchestra.cite book |title=Konzert in C für Violoncello und Orchester |last=Haydn |first=Joseph |authorlink= |coauthors=Gerlach, Sonja (Preface), Clément, Roger (transl.) |year=2007 |publisher=Bärenreiter-Verlag |location=Kassel |isbn= |pages=p. V-VI |url= ISMN M-006-20254-6]

Background

The work was presumed lost until 1961, that musicologist Oldřich Pulkert, when a copy of the score was discovered at the Prague National Museum.cite book |title=Konzert in C für Violoncello und Orchester |last=Haydn |first=Joseph |authorlink= |coauthors=Gerlach, Sonja (Preface), Clément, Roger (transl.) |year=2007 |publisher=Bärenreiter-Verlag |location=Kassel |isbn= |pages=p. V-VI |url= ISMN M-006-20254-6] Though some doubts have been raised about the authenticity of the work, most experts believe that Haydn did compose this concerto.

This early work (it is contemporaneous with symphonies 6, 7and 8) already shows Haydn as a master of instrumental writing.The solo cello part is thoroughly idiomatic. The concerto reflectsthe ritournello form of the baroque concerto as well as the emergingstructure of the sonata-allegro form. As in the baroque concertogrosso, the accompanying ensemble is small: strings, two oboes,and two horns.cite book |title=Konzert in C für Violoncello und Orchester |last=Haydn |first=Joseph |authorlink= |coauthors=Gerlach, Sonja (Preface), Clément, Roger (transl.) |year=2007 |publisher=Bärenreiter-Verlag |location=Kassel |isbn= |pages=p. V-VI |url= ISMN M-006-20254-6] It is possible that Weigl was the only cellist in theEsterházy Orchestra when Haydn composed the concerto, sincethere is only one cello line in the score, marked alternately “solo”and “tutti.” There is also, however, a basso continuo line, that mighthave been played by another cellist, or by Haydn himself on theharpsichord, or by a string bass player.

Movements

# Moderato
# Adagio
# Allegro

All three movements of this work are written in Sonata Form, unlike the Second Concerto, where Rondo Form is used in second and third movements. This Concerto is more related to Haydn's Violin Concerti than its follower, holding very close resemblance to the "A major Violin Concerto (No.3, so-called Melker)": The first movement's etched rhythms, and flowing second themes, a peaceful slow movement, and a brisk finale. Both concerti were composed in the same period of time.

The soloist’s virtuosity is exploited as soon as the cello enters.

After the orchestral exposition, the solo instrument plays the openingtheme with full chords that use all four strings. Virtuosity isdeveloped further in the use of rapidly repeating notes, the very highrange, and quick contrasts of register. Haydn entrusted his soloistwith a solo cadenza toward the end of the first movement. This movement is dominated by a single theme, although the theme itself includes several motives that Haydn develops separately. Haydn, who was always looking for ways to spice up conventional forms, begins rather sedately here until the cadenza, which includes unusual modulations and virtuosic tricks.

In the slow movement (scored without winds), the cello entersdramatically on a long note, played while the orchestral stringsrelaunch the opening theme. Two measures later the cello goeson to imitate this melody. Haydn was fond of this gesture: severaltimes in the movement the cello enters on a sustained pitch. Thismovement, like the first, calls for a cadenza toward the end. This lyrical second movement contains a certain pathos we have come to associate more with Mozart than Haydn. It seems entirely likely that the richness of the voice of the solo instrument may have inspired in the composer a more intense emotional outpouring. [http://www.bellevuephil.org/concerts/notes-MW-4_07.htm]

The breezy, good-natured finale also has the cello enter on along note, after an extended orchestral introduction. After playingthis tone, the cello seems to get stuck on that pitch, returning to itagain and again. This is an early example of Haydn’s sly wit. This spirited Finale, written in sonata allegro form, represented another chance for Haydn to show what he could do in spinning out a single theme into a series of short motives and a large variety of rapidly changing moods. The entire movement is also a real showpiece for the soloist, especially in its rapid, staccato bowings. The virtuosity of the solo instrument is exploited in this movement,especially in passages where the cello alternates rapidly from low tohigh, so that it seems to be two instruments playing in counterpoint.Haydn uses the sustained-note entrance several times, the final oneon a very high, penetrating G.

Keynotes by "Jonathan D. Kramer" [Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Program Notes 113 Edition]

Haydn's C Major Cello Concerto has become a staple of the cello repertoire, after its 20th century premiere by Miloš Sádlo and the Czechoslovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, conductedby Sir Charles Mackerras, on May 19, 1962. Many famous artists, such as Jacqueline du Pré, Yo-Yo Ma, Truls Mørk and Mstislav Rostropovich, have recorded this Concerto.

Notes

ee also

* (The score)
* Cello Concerto No. 2 in D (Haydn)

External links

*IMSLP2|id=Cello_Concerto_No.1_in_C-Major_%28Haydn%2C_Joseph%29|cname=Cello Concerto No. 1