Joseph Haydn
Trumpet Concerto in E flat majorHaydn wrote his Trumpet Concerto for Anton Weidinger, one of the leading trumpet players of his day. Completed in 1796, it was not premiered until 1800.
The trumpet had for its entire history been constrained to playing the notes of the overtone scale. There was a need for filling in the gaps on the instrument, and one of the first solutions was the keyed trumpet. This had holes in it that could be closed with keys to produce additional pitches. Development of this instrument began in the 1760s or 1770s, but the first successful keyed trumpet was built by Anton Weidinger. This instrument could play every note on the chromatic scale over more than two octaves.
Haydn makes full use of the potential of the keyed trumpet. In the very opening phrase of the solo part in the first movement, six out of the 14 notes are pitches that could not have been played on a natural trumpet. The concerto is cast in the conventional three-movement form. The fast, symphonically shaped opening movement is followed by a slow siciliano and a catchy virtuoso finale.
Shortened from Kimmo Korhonen's work presentation
Translation: Jaakko Mäntyjärvi