Tracy Parish

The Late-eighteenth Century Solo Concerto Tracy Parish

This book was conceived of as a means for providing contemporary instrumentalists with an understanding of the implications of structure, style, aesthetics and period conventions of performance in the development of a personal interpretation of the late-eighteenth century solo concerto. An analysis of Joseph Haydn's concerto per il clarino, the composer's final work in this genre, is included to demonstrate the relevance and application of these concepts in the interpretation of a period piece. In addition, the historical background and acoustic properties of the keyed trumpet, for which Haydn's concerto was composed, are explored. The Haydn Concerto is widely considered to be the most important piece in the trumpet repertoire, but the original manuscript is lost. Furthermore, there is little documentation regarding performance of this work during Haydn's lifetime. I have conducted a structural and phrase analysis based on the Versuch einer Anleitung zur Composition of Heinrich Christoph Koch (1749-1816). In addressing conventions of period performance practice, I have consulted various treatises from the eighteenth century including those of Quantz, Mozart, Tromlitz and Türk.