Sinfonia concertante in B-flat major, Hob. I:105

Program notes

About the Work

When Joseph Haydn arrived in London in 1791, he came at the invitation of Johann Peter Salomon, the violinist and impresario who had engaged him for a series of concerts. London audiences loved him, but the city’s concert life was also fiercely competitive. A rival series had brought over Ignaz Pleyel, Haydn’s former pupil, and the newspapers were happy to present teacher and student as opponents. One of the fashions of the moment was the symphonie concertante, a work in which several soloists share the stage with the orchestra, and Pleyel had just won warm praise for one. Haydn answered within weeks.

The piece we hear tonight, which Haydn himself simply called “Concertante”, was written in London in February and March of 1792 and first performed that March at one of Salomon’s concerts, with Salomon leading the solo group. The manuscript suggests that it was written quickly, and the Berliner Philharmoniker’s own introduction describes it as composed “in just a few days”. The four soloists are a violin, a cello, an oboe and a bassoon: two strings and two winds, one high and one low of each, which gives Haydn endless possibilities for pairing, contrasting and combining them.

The premiere was a hit. The performance was repeated a week later “by popular demand”, and the critics praised Haydn’s originality and his variety of expression, even mentioning his unexpected silences. One reviewer singled out the finale as seemingly “expressly calculated” to display the brilliance and sweetness of Salomon’s playing.

Structurally the work sits between a concerto and a symphony. There are three movements, as in a concerto, and no minuet, but the orchestra is more than an accompanist and the four soloists behave like a small chamber group inside it. At these concerts the solo parts go to four principals of the Berliner Philharmoniker, so the “rivalry” of the piece is really a conversation among colleagues who play side by side every week.

What to Listen For

I. Allegro. The orchestra introduces the main ideas before the soloists take them up. Listen for how Haydn passes a phrase from violin to oboe, or from cello to bassoon, and for moments when all four play together as a miniature wind-and-string ensemble.

II. Andante. A gentle, song-like movement and the most intimate music of the evening’s first half. Listen to the blend of the oboe and the violin, and to the bassoon’s warm tone in the low register.

III. Finale: Allegro con spirito. The finale is where Haydn’s wit comes through most clearly, with the sudden silences that caught the attention of the first critics. The solo violin has the most brilliant passages, written with Salomon’s playing in mind, but every soloist gets a moment in the spotlight before the movement races to its close.