Trumpet Concerto (Michael Haydn)

Trumpet Concerto (Michael Haydn)

Michael Haydn's Trumpet Concerto in C major, MH 60, was completed in 1763, and "is one of the most difficult in the entire repertory." The work is in two movements:

• I. Adagio
• II. Allegro molto

Confusingly, this concerto is sometimes listed as Trumpet Concerto No. 2 in C major, but the Trumpet Concerto No. 1 in D major, MH 104, is technically two excerpts from a Divertimento and not a concerto proper.

Besides the solo trumpet in C, the concerto is scored for 2 flutes, strings, and continuo. Part of the difficulty of the concerto is because of the very high notes for the trumpet, which is written even higher than the flutes (indeed, the solo trumpet part is much higher than would be advisable for the modern trumpet, while the flute parts are too low for modern flutes to be heard clearly against a full string section). Both movements provide room for a cadenza; Edward H. Tarr's edition for Musica Rara writes out cadenzas in the trumpet part but not in the conductor's score. Tarr's cadenza for the second movement even goes up to a G above high C but provides ossia for the next lower G.