duncancampbell

Hello Ed,

I was wondering if you knew where that came from - wynton does it, schwarz does it, hardenberger does it on youtube, but there are also a bunch of people who don't. Did somebody invent it in the 20th century? Were there two different editions? As you might guess, this isn't exactly urgent, so no rush.

All the best,

Duncan

wiseone2

Somewhere on the internet is a facsimile of the original score of the concerto, Haydn wrote those notes.
Wilmer

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sdfbailey

Wilmer's right - those Notes are indeed original Haydn, and they serve a purpose. Imagine the first performance of the concerto, and you'll understand why.

This was the first public performance on a new keyed trumpet which could play for more lower notes than the instrument known at the time - what we now call the natural, or baroque trumpet. At that time in history, lots of new stuff was being invented from theories to machinery - society was probably even more excited about new stuff, whatever it was, than we are today!

It was perfectly normal for concerti in those days to have quite long openings (consider the piano concerti of Mozart), so Haydn had what probably proved to be an excellent idea. He threw in a few notes so that the audience heard a "preview" of how the instrument sounded. This will have excited the audience even more about what was to come - and will have given Weidinger the chance to extend his warmup!

Haydn was cleverer than that though - the notes that he used in the opening could be played on the trumpet without using the keys. I don't know if there is evidence of this, but you would hope that Weidinger didn't use the keys to play the F, for example in that opening motif. This way, the trumpet would have sounded perfectly "normal" to the listener.

Then, the first three notes of the first subject are played. The listener will have heard a trumpet play a low D for the first time. NOW the audience is really wondering what's going to happen next!

Clever huh?

In conclusion - play the notes, and keep the last notes of the 3rd movement in the lower octave, that's Haydn too!

You can download a copy of the original trumpet part here.:

SB

ecarroll

Duncan,

Wilmer is right. The first note played by the soloist is a simple low Eb in the middle of the opening tutti, followed by a "call-and-response" between the orchestral trumpets and soloist utilizing additional conventional notes found in the harmonic series.

Imagine the audience' surprise then in hearing the RE in the opening solo statement DO, RE, ME -- a first for Mr. Weidinger's "organized" trumpet. Yowza. Stock markets soared and panties rained down on the soloist from the cheap seats.

Seriously, it was a great moment in the history of our instrument.

I never ask my students to play the notes in question when performing with piano, but they MUST be played when performing with an orchestra. They're in the score.

Best,
EC

ecarroll

SB,

I seem to type slower than you do. Well answered, mate.

Cheers,
EC

sdfbailey

Hi Ed,
I'm a trumpet player who works in IT - hence the typing speed!

This is indeed a great moment in trumpet history, and it's not talked about enough. This illustration is a great way to get students excited about the Haydn. How many essays are written in colleges around the world each year about this piece, and never mention the significance of this moment? Very few I expect!

Glad to help. Will keep an eye on the forum and contribute more when I can. I've added it to my Google Reader.

Thanks.

SB

duncancampbell

Very much appreciated, thank you everybody.

Duncan

Jimi Michiel

Ed,

I've given a lot of thought to the Haydn Concerto--my arguments with a former roommate over this piece were epic. My contention is that, save the first few moments discussed above, this is mediocre or even sub-par Haydn. I find very little in the way of thematic, structural, or harmonic material that is of much interest. There is a moment in the third movement where that original E-flat half note returns, which can be played up as a humorous moment, but it's otherwise missing the characteristic wit that I love about Haydn. I think especially compared to the Hummel , which stands on its own as a great work of art, the Haydn is just another classical concerto whose only significant defining characteristic is that it holds a very important place in the repertoire of an otherwise woefully neglected instrument (until the 20th century, thankfully). I've never peformed it, but I think I would find it difficult to make it relevant to any accept the most narrow audiences. For what it's worth, I've played recordings of the same performer (MA, I think) side by side with the Hummel and most of my non-trumpeter friends find the Hummel more interesting. (I usually avoid the topic with trumpeters, but this is the internet and even if I am not anonymous, it would be very difficult for any of you to reach through the computer and strangle me).

Maybe I'm cynical after listening to too many high schoolers hack their way through it...

-Jimi

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ecarroll

Jimi,

Perhaps you'll find it of interest that Carlo Maria Giullini once called the Hummel Concerto the worst piece of music he ever studied and that many scholars, including my non-scholarly self, feel that Haydn's trumpet concerto stands amongst Papa's finest orchestral creations. My feelings towards contemporary music are well known on these pages, but I still offer the Haydn, having performed it many time, as our greatest work.

You hit the nail squarely on the head. Stop giving it to students who aren't musically mature. I'll go one better -- I've repeatedly experienced wonderful students with mastery over a wide and diverse repertoire sound like children when they finally get around to playing the Haydn for me, having tackled it themselves at a too early age. The moral here is to save your ears and be careful what you imprint.

Best, as always
EC

Vulgano Brother

Wobisch played it too, and his recording is a becnhmark, defining the Haydn style. (I'll just dispense with the "in my humble opinion" stuff--this is a given, right? [besides, Vulgani are humble enough in their own right!]))

H. C. Robbins Landon considered it to be Haydn's best concerto.

As for Hummel, why was he hailed as "the next Mozart" instead of "the first Hummel?" Would Solar Bell call the Pittsburg Penguins "the next Red Wings?"

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