Concerto Copenhagen - Lars Ulrik Mortenssen

Concerto Copenhagen is the most important baroque orchestra of Scandinavia. The remarkable vitality radiating from their authentic interpretations, made the the first choice for the opening concert of this Haydn series. In collaboration with the Dutch pianist Ronald Brautigam, they will explore lesser-known aspects of the oeuvre of Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), the piano concerto. The composer wrote the concertos mainly in his early years. Few of these have been preserved. Although Haydn probably wrote the piano concerto in F at Esterhaza in 1766, Leduc in Paris did not publish it until 1787. There is less agreement concerning the origin of the piano concert in D Major: most likely, it was originally written for the organ. It is probably the oldest of the six HobXVIII concertos. The evening will open with a little known symphony by the German composer and emigrant to Denmark Johann Adolphe Scheibe (1708-1776), again underpinning Concerto Copenhagen's reputation for elevating work from Danish archives into the concert halls. The following work will also be from Danish archives: a symphony by the Swede Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1758), the first noteworthy composer in his country. This adventuresome evening will climax in a work by Emanuel Bach (1714-1788), commissioned by Gottfried van Swieten, the Austrian ambassador to Berlin, from 1773.