Album insights
From the late 1770s, Joseph Haydn enjoyed immense international acclaim. His name alone boosted sales of works, despite unscrupulous publishers releasing volumes of symphonies, concertos, and keyboard pieces falsely attributed to him. This widespread Haydn craze could be detrimental. Doubts persisted about the authenticity of some works, including keyboard concertos in G major and D major. Haydn's strength lay in precision and thematic unity, although his solo concertos didn't match Mozart's significance. His F major and G major concertos were written for harpsichord but sounded fitting on the modern piano, unlike his vibrant symphonies. The D major concerto, a favorite, was composed during his period of European fame, expertly blending drama and dynamism into the sonata form. The rich Rondo all’ungarese, with its exotic charm, stood out as his most popular finale.