Haydn's First Cello Concerto was long thought lost until a copy was discovered in 1961, leading to its modern premiere at the Prague Spring Festival in May 1962.
Composer Biography
Vaja Azarashvili, the composer of the Cello Concerto and String Orchestra, shares a similar melancholic and songlike style with Giya Kancheli; both were born in Tbilisi and taught at the capital's State Conservatory.
Interpretation
Cellist Maximilian Hornung describes Vaja Azarashvili's Cello Concerto as a blend of Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and the French tradition of Olivier Messiaen.
Composition History
Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major was once believed to have been composed by Anton Kraft, a virtuoso cellist and composer who was its dedicatee, until Haydn's autograph manuscript was found in 1954.
Performer Biography
Maximilian Hornung, the cellist on this album, won the German Music Council's Competition in 2005 and received two ECHO Klassik prizes in 2011 and 2012.
Composition History
Joseph Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major was written for Joseph Weigl, a 21-year-old principal cellist appointed to Prince Esterházy's orchestra in 1761.
Critical Reception
Both Haydn's Cello Concertos No. 1 and No. 2 were lost for almost two centuries, only to be rediscovered in the 20th century.
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