These six cello concertos were composed by Leonardo Leo in 1737/38 exclusively for Domenico Marzio Caraffa, Duke of Maddaloni, who was a patron of Leo's and an amateur cellist.
Instruments
Hidemi Suzuki performs on a baroque cello made by Bart Visset in 1994, after a Hendrik Jacobs cello from around 1690, and a five-string cello piccolo from the early 18th century.
Compositional Technique
Leonardo Leo was one of the first composers to liberate the cello from its basso continuo role, giving it full, rich, and expressive melodies in quantities unmatched before him.
Performer Biography
Hidemi Suzuki, the baroque cellist on this recording, won first prize at the First International Baroque Cello Competition in Paris in 1986.
Composer Biography
Leonardo Leo, born in 1694, was a composer, conductor, organist, and teacher who worked mostly in Naples, standing at the border between the Baroque and early Classical eras.
Compositional Technique
Leo's concertos often feature 'singing Allegros' and incorporate 'modern', gallant ornamentation, especially in movements marked Andante grazioso or Amoroso.
Compositional Technique
Formally, Leo's concertos combine sonata form with the Baroque concerto principle, a 'concertante dramaturgy' that would later be refined by Mozart and Haydn.
