After Haydn became vice-Kapellmeister to the Esterházy family in 1761, he soon realised that he had at his disposal some remarkable musicians in the orchestra at the court. In his Symphonies 6, 7 and 8 he had given the principal musicians significant solo parts. Although he didn’t repeat this in later symphonies, he produced a series of concertos for violinist Luigi Tomasini, cellist Joseph Weigl and others. These works lay unknown throughout the 19th century, and only came to light in the first part of the 20th – in fact the famous D major Cello Concerto (now one of the most popular of Haydn’s works and one of the ‘great’ cello concertos) wasn’t discovered until the early 1950s. New booklet notes by Haydn authority David Threasher. ‘The recorded quality is lifelike, surfaces are completely silent – save for the impeccable playing of these splendid artists.’ Gramophone, October 1981 (violin concertos)