94004_Haydn_Divertiment_BL2.qxd
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Joseph Haydn: Concertini and Divertimenti Joseph Haydn’s most important contributions to chamber music with piano are the trios for piano, violin and cello. With a total of over 40 works they make up the largest group in this genre and are also the set of works to which Haydn devoted the longest span of time – the first piano trios were composed in the late 1750s, the last one as late as 1796. The piano trios overshadow Haydn’s other chamber music with piano which consists mainly of two groups of works. The first group is represented by one single piece, the Divertimento in E flat major, Hob. XIV: 1, in the unusual instrumentation of piano, violin, bass instrument and two horns, which is the only work by Haydn which could be considered as belonging to the genre of the piano quintet (it could also be regarded as an extended piano trio with two horns). On the other hand, the 12 divertimenti for piano, two violins and double bass (or cello) can definitely be regarded as piano quartets. Two of these, the divertimenti in C major, Hob. XIV: 10, and in C major, Hob. XIV: C1, are incomplete, and for this reason have not been included in the present recording. In a third, the Divertimento in C major, Hob.XIV: C2, the authenticity of the third movement (Allegro) is doubtful. There is a contemporary source for this Divertimento which has two movements without the final Allegro, and is possibly the original form of this work. The works for piano, two violins and double bass or cello are usually called ‘Concertini and Divertimenti’ in the literature on Haydn. This term, originally used for the two works whose autographs are known, was transferred to the whole group of works. Haydn had written ‘Concertino’ as a title on the autograph of the work in C major, Hob. XIV: 11, which an earlier generation of musicologists had at their disposal but which has since been lost, and ‘Divertimento’ on Hob. XIV: 4. Taking these as a pattern, the four compositions which have an Adagio in the dominant or a parallel minor key as a middle movement are given the title ‘Concertino’, whereas the ‘Divertimenti’ have as their second movement a minuet in the tonic (similar to many of the early piano trios). However, in contemporary sources we find several different terms used. The Concertini often bear the title ‘Concerto’, whereas some of the Divertimenti are called ‘Concertino, ‘Concerto’ or even ‘Sonata’. Because they contain characteristics which are common to all pieces, the Concertini and Divertimenti form a relatively homogenous group of works within Haydn’s oeuvre. 2
The compositions are all of limited size, formally simple and set for ease of playing, which seems to mean that they were intended for pupils and less talented pianists. They all date back to the first period of Haydn’s career as a composer. Some of them may have been composed during Haydn’s time as music director for Graf Ferdinand Maximilian Franz Morzin, i.e. between 1757 an 1760. However, Haydn probably wrote the larger number of them after taking up his post as music director at the court of Prince Esterházy in Eisenstadt in 1761, in other words, during the 1760s. An exact date can be defined for only two works; Haydn’s autographs reveal that the Concertino Hob. XIV: 11 was composed in 1760 and the Divertimento Hob. XIV: 4 in 1764. On stylistic grounds it would seem clear that none of the Concertini and Divertimenti was composed later than 1770. In what ways do the Concertini and Divertimenti differ from Haydn’s other compositions for piano with accompanying instruments during this period? A marked difference to the piano and organ concertos is the solo instrumentation of the strings, suggested by the composition technique. Whereas, for example, in the true concertos there are often passages for the two violin parts in unison, such passages are far less frequent in the ‘Concertini and Divertimenti’. It is true that the Concertini have a similar sequence of movements as the concertos, with an Adagio second movement which is characterised by expressive cantilena in the piano; but they differ in the lack of ritornellos and other passages in which the strings could stand out independently. The piano is always the centre of what is happening; it introduces the thematic thoughts and develops them further. The strings must remain content with merely accompanying roles, even if there are occasionally touches of a dialogue between the piano and the accompanying instruments. In the Adagio of the Concertini Hob. XIV: 12, for example, the first violin seems to answer to the ‘words’ of the piano like an echo. The strings ‘role in the Divertimenti is even simpler, and once could easily get the impression that they are merely there to support a less than accomplished pianist. And here lies an important difference to Haydn’s piano trios, composed about the same time, and which the Divertimenti have the same sequence of movements in common. There, the violin has an important thematic role to fulfil; it is the piano’s indispensable partner. The piano quartets could even be performed completely without strings without any great material loss. 훿 Andreas Friesenhagen, 2009 Translation: Susan Doering 3