Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major

Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2 was long thought to have been written for (or even by) Anton Kraft, the principal cellist in the orchestra at the palace of Haydn’s noble employers in rural Hungary. Nevertheless, recent findings have found this to be a fabrication on the part of Kraft’s son, to boost his father’s reputation. In fact the concerto was crafted by Haydn for one James Cervetto, principal cellist of the Italian Opera in London, who premiered it at the city’s Hanover Square Rooms in 1784. Cervetto was admired for the expressive singing tone of his playing, which the 18th-century music historian Charles Burney likened to “the best tenor voices”. Accordingly, Cello Concerto No. 2 exploits the lyrical qualities of the instrument’s upper registers in preference to the rhythmic vigour and charismatic virtuosity of its predecessor, the First Cello Concerto of the early 1760s. A work of considerable charm, it has an unhurried opening movement that is succeeded by an intensely lyrical central “Adagio” and a cheerful “Rondo” finale.