Trumpet concerto, 2nd movement

Listen to an extract (no trumpet):

Listen to an extract (inc. trumpet):

Franz Jospeh Haydn (1732 – 1809), was an extraordinary pianist and composer. He wrote over a hundred symphonies leading to him being referred a the ’Father of the Symphony’. He also composed significant amounts of chamber music and probably established the string quartet and the piano trio as standard instrumental combinations. Consequently, he is also known as the ‘Father of the string quartet’. Although he was mostly isolated as a Court Musician for the Esterhazy family, his music was widely circulated and he was a friend and mentor to Mozart as well as a tutor to Beethoven. Perhaps his best known work is the oratorio, The Creation. This extravagant work for large choir and orchestra is still part of the modern music repertoire. His symphonies, especially the last ones (eg. The Drum Roll, the Surprise, the London) are still frequently played a well. He is remembered as a real gentle man with a delightful impish sense of humour. There is a delightful tale of when the musicians of the orchestra felt they needed a break from Court isolation and some time with their families, so they approached Haydn to ask what they should do about it. Haydn with typical tact, wrote the Farewell symphony, where each player got up in turn during the playing of the 2nd movement, blew out his candle and left the stage. As the player left, one by one, eventually only Haydn and the lead violin was left. They stopped playing and also left the stage. The Esterhazy family took the hint and allowed the musicians a long holiday.

Haydn was the first to write for the newly invented trumpet with valves. Prior to this invention, trumpets were ‘natural’, you could only get notes from the harmonics of the tube. The trumpet concerto was the first featuring this invention and Haydn used it to its best extent.

Here is the 2nd movement offered in two different forms. One with an additional trumpet to the quintet and the second with the parts absorbed into the quintet itself with overall soloist being the clarinet. The other movements are ‘under construction’.