These Haydn divertimenti of 1784 are generally performed by the combination of two violins and a cello, the preferred forces specified on the original score Haydn sent to a publisher. He apparently wrote "or flute" as an option for one of the violin parts at the last minute. Some have attributed the move to purely commercial considerations, but the booklet for this disc makes a good case that he had the flute option in mind all along (one of the violin parts uses no double stops, and there are several subtler considerations ...
Read More
These Haydn divertimenti of 1784 are generally performed by the combination of two violins and a cello, the preferred forces specified on the original score Haydn sent to a publisher. He apparently wrote "or flute" as an option for one of the violin parts at the last minute. Some have attributed the move to purely commercial considerations, but the booklet for this disc makes a good case that he had the flute option in mind all along (one of the violin parts uses no double stops, and there are several subtler considerations). At any rate, they are enjoyable examples of the everyday sort of chamber music Haydn produced in such profusion. Each work is in three movements, but the sequence of the three is never the same. All the works are short, with none longer than 10 minutes in total and several of the individual movements barely over a minute. Within these constraints, Haydn's characteristic sonata forms are condensed into simple binary structures. Sometimes he abandons those in favor of sharp, basic...
Read Less
