Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major - by Joseph Haydn

Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major by Joseph Haydn
Performed Saturday, March 16th, 2024 | Broadmoor Community Church
Cello: Annie Jacobs-Perkins
Conductor: Thomas Wilson
Audio/Video: Michael Lascuola
Program Notes: Annie Jacobs-Perkins
One of my teachers told me this story about young Haydn when I was growing up, but it took me until I was an adult to back it up with a scholarly source. The story is as follows:
At the time the court was building the Summer Palace at Schonbrunn, Haydn had to sing there with the church musicians in the Whitsuntide holidays. When not engaged in the church he joined the other boys, climbing the scaffolding and made considerable noise on the boards.
One day the boys suddenly perceived a lady; it was Maria Theresa herself, who at once ordered some one to drive away the noisy youngsters, and threaten them with a whipping if they were caught there again. On the very next day, urged on by his temerity, Haydn climbed the scaffolding alone, was caught and received the promised punishment which he deserved. Many years afterward, when Haydn was engaged in Prince Esterhazy’s service, the Empress came to Esterhaz. Haydn presented himself and offered his humble thanks for the punishment received on that occasion. He had to relate the whole story, which occasioned much merriment.
This anecdote comes from one of Haydn’s friends, the painter Albert Christoph Dies. I still can’t say for sure whether the story is true-Dies’s biography of Haydn has a decidedly artistic flair and is not necessarily the most accurate-but it fits with the picture I have of Haydn in my head. Just like the boy Haydn who climbed palace scaffolding to feel wind on his face and the adrenaline rush of almost being caught by his elders, his music is similarly on the hunt for joy and mischief.
The D Major Cello Concerto was written for the cellist Anton Kraft in 1783, a virtuosic solo cellist alive during a time when the cello was considered primarily an accompanimental instrument. Up until 1951, many actually attributed this work to Kraft himself because Haydn’s manuscript had gone missing and the writing is so cellistic. Though the work is certainly by Haydn, it is clearly a collaboration between cellist and composer. Many of the jokes that show up are specific to the cello; Haydn was clearly using the instrument as a means to experiment with color and timbre.
The first movement is full of markings quite rare for the time period. In one place, Haydn instructs the cellist to play high up on the G string, creating a sound that is dark and muted, thuddy. In another passage, he instructs the cellist to play in the stratosphere of the A string, marked flautino or “floating.” In another, the solo cello finishes a phrase as softly as possible before the orchestra comes in with a subito forte for two notes; then the orchestra and soloist return to piano for the beginning of the next phrase. I almost always think of Haydn as speaking music rather than singing music, but the second movement of this concerto seems to find a perfect balance between the two. It really is one of my favorite movements of all time-I hope you enjoy it! The concerto closes with a rondo built on the theme of a hunting song.