Masterworks for the Cello
The genre of instrumental concertos emerged in the Baroque era; concertos for the cello, however, remained a rarity. Joseph Haydn, who was good friends with the cellist of the orchestra at the Palace of Esterhazy, is said to have written nine of them. Only two have survived – but these two are among the loveliest and most ambitious of their kind. In the transition from late Baroque splendour to budding Viennese Classicism, they show soloist and orchestra competing with one another to excel in passionate virtuosity.
The genre of instrumental concertos emerged in the Baroque era; concertos for the cello, however, remained a rarity. Joseph Haydn, who was good friends with the cellist of the orchestra at the Palace of Esterhazy, is said to have written nine of them. Only two have survived – but these two are among the loveliest and most ambitious of their kind. In the transition from late Baroque splendour to budding Viennese Classicism, they show soloist and orchestra competing with one another to excel in passionate virtuosity.