Joseph Haydn's D Major Violoncello Concerto Opus 101: a study in history and authenticity

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to assemble in one source as much of the historical data pertinent to the D Major Cello Concerto of Joseph Haydn as is possible in such a work. Many articles have been written over the years concerning this concerto. The major concern of these articles has been whether or not Haydn actually composed the D Major Cello Concerto. All of the known arguments will be approached and discussed and some conclusions will be drawn. It is interesting to note that all such arguments were published before the whereabouts of the autograph manuscript was widely known. The present author was able to obtain a microfilm copy of the autograph from the Austrian National Library in Vienna to whom he is deeply indebted. This microfilm has proven itself invaluable in this study. Many references to the autograph will be made throughout this work, especially in Chapters Three and Four, dealing with the Gevaert changes and the current editions of the concerto. This leads to a second purpose of this paper. That purpose is to determine which of the current editions of the D Major Cello Concerto follows the manuscript most accurately. There have been many published editions of this concerto and presently there are more than eight to choose from. The decision of which edition to use when studying this piece is largely a matter of personal taste, but one should take into consideration whether or not the edition used is authentic. At this time there is an appalling lack of critical editions in the cello repertiore, with only the Bach Suites and the Beethoven and Brahms Sonatas available in such editions. Critical editions do not always contain the most effective bowing and fingering indications, but a well-schooled player can reach his own conclusions concerning correct notes, dynamics, phrases and articulations. Authentic scores eliminate the questionable indications of ill-informed and misguided editions; the serious music student will try to determine what the composer really wanted. It is the real concern of this author that in the forthcoming years there will be more critical editions of the cello repertoire made available to both students and teachers. Just a note concerning translations. Translations on page 10 and 14 are by Josef Marx. All others, unless otherwise noted in the footnotes, are mine.