Violin Concerto in C major Hob VIIa:1

Haydn's Violin Concerto in C major has always been closely linked to Breitkopf & Härtel, which began selling copies of the work back in 1769. The first edition came out in 1909 and helped secure the work a broad dissemination and lasting popularity. Strangely enough, this first edition is one of the most important sources today, since its own source a copy of Haydn's autograph, perhaps the autograph itself was lost at the end of World War II. Although other copies from Haydn's time were made, they are textually less reliable.

Walter Heinz Bernstein has created an easily playable and pleasant-sounding piano score on the basis of the first edition, whereby he has respected the early classical continuo practice. As he did earlier in the G major Concerto (EB 8606), Thomas Zehetmair has once again accepted the challenging task of embellishing the solo part with stylistically accurate cadenzas and flourishes. This delightful concerto is thus now available in a modern edition.