Haydn

Violin Concertos Nos 1 & 4; Cello Concerto No. 1

Amandine Beyer (violin), Marco Ceccato (cello); Gli Incogniti Harmonia Mundi HMM 902314 58:01 mins

Writing concertos was never an activity of central importance to ★aydn, as it was to Mozart. With the exception of the Trumpet Concerto and the Sinfonia concertante

composed for London, ★aydn’s concerted works are all fairly early pieces, straddling the divide between Baroque and Classical approaches to concerto form. Several of the violin concertos ★aydn is known to have composed are lost – a fate that nearly befell the now popular C major

Cello Concerto recorded here, which only resurfaced in the 1960s. It’s an energetic and enjoyable piece, with a deeply felt slow movement and an irrepressibly lively finale. Marco Ceccato gives a fine and stylish performance, though he’s placed just a little too close to the microphone for comfort.

The violin concertos were probably composed for the leader of the Esterházy court orchestra, Luigi Tommasini, who judging by their virtuoso demands must have been a highly skilled player. Both are scored without wind instruments, and Amandine Beyer’s accomplished performances are greatly helped by the alert playing of the orchestral strings. Indeed, the sense of sheer enjoyment in music-making is palpable throughout this disc. Sandwiching the Cello Concerto between the violin works results in two C major pieces placed back to back, and it might have been better to have the two violin concertos, in C and G major, placed first. Listeners can, of course, programme the CD’S contents as they wish. Misha Donat PERFORMANCE ★★★★ RECORDING ★★★★