Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 01/02/2008, uploaded on 02/03/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Of the concertos that Haydn composed, the Concerto in D major, Hob. XVIII:11 for keyboard is his most well-known. Composed with both the harpsichord and piano in mind, the soloist is offset by the modest forces of two each of oboes and horns and the usual compliment of strings. The date of its composition, between 1780 and 1783, places it at the same time as Mozart’s early Vienna concertos. During these years the concerto broke through the meager limitations of the Galant style and turned into the mature grand form that would be handed down into the capable hands of Beethoven. With this in mind, one cannot help but recognize here the influence of Mozart upon Haydn.

The concerto opens with a delightfully refined movement and a stately principle idea outlining the notes of the tonic triad. As is often the case in Haydn’s sonata form movements, both thematic areas of the exposition grow out of the same melodic idea, in this case the very first measure of the piece, creating an extreme uniformity of thought. The following movement, in A major and marked Un poco Adagio, begins with a melody that also lifts its way up through the arpeggiated form of the tonic chord. Cast in ternary form, a prolonged middle section in E major introduces a new melody but also develops upon some of the material found earlier in the movement. For example, a touching motif over a tonic pedal heard at the beginning returns during the course of the middle section in the key of E minor creating a moment of mystery and suspense. Lastly, the finale is a lively rondo in the Hungarian style. Full of animated rhythms and gypsy inflections, it has the feel of a well-practiced dance with its melodic figures thrown between soloist and orchestra with great precision. An episode in D minor interrupts the otherwise jolly tone of the movement but, nevertheless, injects an even stronger fervor into the music. The D major rondo theme returns and drives on relentlessly to the final fortissimo chords that conclude Haydn’s most popular concerto for the piano.     Joseph DuBose