Joseph Haydn
Violin Concerto G major Hob. VIIa:4*
Three violin concertos by Joseph Haydn survive, of which the ones in C major and A major were written at the court of Prince Esterhazy. The violin concerto in G major Hob. Vll:4 was probably composed in the early 1760s, before his appointment by the prince. It thus comes as no surprise that it is very different from the other two concertos; the solo violin part hardly goes beyond the third position, and the focus is more on lyricism than virtuosity.
For (younger) violin learners the work thus offers a good opportunity to engage with Haydn the composer for the first time. Our Urtext edition is based on the Haydn Complete Edition, also published by G. Henle Verlag. The extensive preface includes a discussion of authenticity, among other things. The edition is rounded off by sophisticated string bowing and fingerings by Kurt Guntner, along with cadenzas created by Franz Beyer.
About the Composer
Joseph Haydn
His immense oeuvre documents the profound changes in music history during the second half of the eighteenth century, leading to the emancipation of instrumental music. His most important genres are the symphony and the string quartet, where he cultivated the technique of motivic-thematic development; he made significant contributions to the instrumental concerto and to piano music; during the last years of his life, he composed his great oratorios. Opera and art song take on a rather subordinate significance.
| 1732 | Born in Rohrau, probably on March 31 (baptized on April 1). |
| 1737 or 1738 | His uncle Johann Mathias Franck takes him in, in order to oversee his musical education. |
| around 1739/40 | For about 8–10 years, chorister at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. |
| from 1750 | He makes his living as a musician, teacher, and composer. |
| 1757–61 | Employed as music director by Count Morzin. He makes a name for himself as a composer: fifteen symphonies, piano sonatas, trios, divertimenti, string trios, wind partitas, string quartets Opp. 1 and 2. |
| 1761 | “Times of Day” Symphonies Nos. 6–8: “Le matin,” “Le midi,” “Le soir.” |
| from 1761 | Employed by Prince Paul Anton at the Esterházy court, by Prince Nikolaus from 1762, by Paul Anton II from 1790–96, then by Nikolaus II, first as vice-Kapellmeister, then as Kapellmeister after 1766. |
| 1764–65 | Symphonies No. 22 in E-flat major, “Philosopher”; No. 30 in C major, “Alleluia”; and No. 31 in D major, “Hornsignal.” |
| 1766 | Prince Nikolaus Esterházy demands operas for the theater in his newly erected castle. Haydn’s operas are written primarily for special occasions, e.g., “La Canterina,” for the Kaiser’s visit in 1766. He composes many baryton pieces for Prince Nikolaus. |
| 1766–74 | Eighteen symphonies, including “La passione” in F minor (1768), “Lamentatione” in D minor (1770), “The Schoolmaster” in E-flat major (1774), “Trauer” (“Mourning”) in E minor (1772): expanded expressive range (six are in minor keys), more counterpoint. |
| 1768 | Premiere of “Lo speziale” on Goldoni’s libretto for the inauguration of the new opera house at Eszterháza. |
| 1770 | Premiere of the dramma giocoso “Le pescatrici.” After a ten-year hiatus, he writes the pioneering string quartets “6 Divertimenti” Op. 9, and Op. 17 (1771). |
| 1771 | Piano Sonata No. 20 in C minor. |
| 1772 | “Farewell Symphony” No. 45 in F-sharp minor, “6 Divertimenti (‘Sun Quartets’),” Op. 20, which are characterized by contrapuntal techniques (some have fugues as final movements). |
| 1775 | Premiere of the opera “L’incontro improvviso.” |
| around 1775–78 | “Missa brevis sancti Joannis de Deo (‘Little Organ Mass’).” |
| 1776 | Prince Nikolaus calls for regular opera performances at Eszterháza. Haydn adjusts works imported from Vienna or Italy to the local taste. He moves from Eisenstadt to Castle Eszterháza, where he resides for ten months a year. Little instrumental music after 1776, often with integrated opera music. |
| 1777 | Premiere of “Il mondo della luna,” after Goldoni. |
| 1779 | Contact with the publisher Artaria, who distributes his compositions over the following decade. |
| 1781 | Premiere of the opera “La fedeltà premiata.” Missa Cellensis, “Mariazellermesse”; String Quartets, Op. 33 (‘Russian Quartets’), which are written “in a quite new and special way” (Haydn) after a rather long break in composing quartets and regarded as paradigmatic for Haydn’s “wit” in the sense of his playful engagement with the instruments. |
| 1782 | Premiere of “Orlando paladino.” He begins selling his compositions abroad as well; he has the Symphonies Nos. 76–78 and 79–81 (1783–84) printed in Paris. |
| 1783 | Cello Concerto in D major (Hob. VIIb: 2). |
| 1784 | Premiere of “Armida”; from this point he composes no more operas for the court. Piano Concerto in D major. |
| 1785–86 | Commission by Count d’Ogny to write six symphonies (the Paris Symphonies, Nos. 82–87) to be performed at the Concert de la Loge Olympique in Paris. |
| 1787–90 | String Quartets, Opp. 50, 54, and 55. After Nikolaus’ death, Prince Paul Anton II dismisses the entire court chapel; Haydn retains his office in name only. |
| 1791 | Composition of the opera “L’anima del filosofo ossia Orfeo ed Eurudice,” which never reaches the stage (posthumous performance in Florence in 1951). |
| 1791–92 | Stay in London, engaged by the concert manager Johann Peter Salomon. “6 Quartetti,” Op. 64; the first volume of his transcriptions of Scottish folk songs appears in 1792. Composition of the first six London Symphonies Nos. 93–98, including the Surprise Symphony No. 94. |
| 1792 | Sinfonia Concertante for violin, cello, oboe, bassoon, and orchestra in B-flat major. |
| 1794–95 | Second stay in London. Six London Symphonies Nos. 99–104, No. 104 has monothematic opening movement, “Military” Symphony No. 100 integrates Janissary music; sonata-rondo as a new form of final movement, e.g., in No. 102. |
| 1794 | Accession to power of Nikolaus II, who calls for a mass to celebrate the princess’s name day every year. Six new masses are written: the “Heiligmesse” in B-flat major and the “Kettledrum Mass” in C major (1796), the “Nelson Mass” in D minor/D major (1798), the “Theresienmesse” in B-flat major (1799), the “Creation Mass” in B-flat major (1801), and the “Wind Band Mass” in B-flat major (1802). |
| 1796 | Vocal setting of the initially instrumental version of “The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross;” Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major. |
| 1797 | Emperor’s Hymn “Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser” (“God Save Emperor Francis”) and the Emperor Quartet in C major, Op. 76 No. 3. |
| 1798 | Premiere of his oratorio “The Creation.” |
| 1801 | Performance of oratorio “The Seasons.” |
| 1809 | Dies in Vienna on May 31. |
About the Authors
Kurt Guntner (Fingering and bowing for Violin)
Prof. Kurt Guntner was born in Munich on Mozart’s 183rd birthday. He studied the violin with Ludwig Ackermann, Max Rostal and Henryk Szeryng. At the age of 18, he made his solo debut in the Kongreßsaal at the German Museum in Munich, performing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. At the age of 22 he was appointed first concertmaster with the Bavarian State Orchestra. After 10 eventful years at the Bavarian State Opera with conductors such as Ferenc Fricsay, Joseph Keilberth and Hans Knappertsbusch, Rudolf Kempe invited him to become the first concertmaster with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, giving him the opportunity to perform the violin solo in many of the great violin concertos.
Of particular appeal were the BR’s invitations to perform and record great violin concertos that were seldom played, including those by Casella, Schillings, Szymanowsky. Kurt Eichhorn initiated this series– Jan Koetsier, Marek Janowski and others conducted other concertos. Kurt Guntner was also first concertmaster with the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra for many years, and played with the Munich Bach Orchestra under Karl Richter, in the Association of Soloists in The Bach Week in Ansbach and with the Münchner Bachsolisten. In 1972 he founded the internationally acclaimed ODEON-TRIO, together with the cellist Angelica May and the pianist Leonard Hokanson, touring all over the world with them for 25 years. In 1976 Guntner was called to the tenured chair of violin at Munich’s Hochschule für Musik und Theater, teaching students from around the world for 28 years.
He made numerous recordings for radio, television, record and CD. Karl Schumann described Guntner’s broad musical personality thus: “Kurt Guntner is a practical orchestral musician, soloist, chamber musician and educator in one person”.
In 1997 Kurt Guntner was awarded the order of merit (first class) of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Kurt Guntner died on 9 January 2015 in Munich.
He was closely associated with G. Henle Publishers for several decades. Since the end of the 1980s he had produced numerous Urtext editions of works for violin for the publishing house, sharing pedagogically polished bowings and fingerings for different works including violin concertos by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Bruch and Tchaikovsky, as well as numerous other editions.
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