Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 1 in C major

In contrast to the more than 104 symphonies FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN wrote, he showed only modest interest in the concerto genre. In his youth, the concerto was regarded largely as an exercise for composers and performers - a pleasant diversion for the ear. Yet it offered him an excellent opportunity to showcase the talents of the virtuosos in his orchestra or of visiting soloists. As a result, he composed concertos for a variety of instruments - violin, piano, cello, double bass, French horn, trumpet, and the now‑obsolete organ lyre (a hybrid between a harpsichord and a small organ). Between 1761 and 1765, he composed the first of his two surviving cello concertos - the VIOLONCELLO CONCERTO IN C MAJOR. It was almost certainly intended for his childhood friend from Vienna, the accomplished virtuoso Joseph Franz Weigl, whom Haydn recruited into the Esterházy orchestra and whose son Joseph (also a cellist, composer, and conductor) he later served as godfather. There is no information about the premiere of the work, nor even whether it was performed during Haydn’s lifetime. The composer listed the concerto in his handwritten catalog, where he transcribed the opening of the first movement. For nearly two centuries, the concerto was considered lost, until in 1961 the musicologist Oldřich Pulkert discovered a copy of the score in the archives of Radenín Castle, preserved at the National Museum in Prague. The work finally received its premiere in the 20th century — on May 19^th , 1962, at the Prague Spring Festival, with violoncellist Miloš Sádlo and the Czechoslovak Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras. The concerto is written in the “gallant style,” in three contrasting movements: fast – slow – fast. From the lively, sparkling first movement onward, we witness the transition from Baroque to Classical form through the combination of traditional orchestral ritornellos and virtuoso solo episodes that develop the thematic material. In the Adagio, the cello takes a long, expressive breath before beginning to “sing” a beautiful aria against the soft backdrop of the strings, culminating in a brief solo cadenza. This cadenza differs from the grand one in the previous movement, where the performer displays their full technical prowess. The finale is a true display of fireworks. The soloist reenters with a long, sustained note and then launches into dizzying passages that traverse the entire fingerboard of the instrument. The rapid chase with the orchestra ends in joyful triumph.