Haydn 2032, Vol. 17: Per Il Luigi (2LP)

"Per il Luigi," the 17th installment of the Edition Haydn 2032 series, features some of Haydn’s earliest symphonies, which were intended to showcase the talent of the musicians who had joined the Esterházy court orchestra at the same time as Haydn himself. The centerpiece of the program is Symphony No. 13 in D major from 1763, which is scored for four horns and whose final movement anticipates the famous theme of Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony, composed 25 years later. The Violin Concerto in C major is listed in Haydn’s catalog of works as “fatto per il Luigi” and is dedicated to Luigi Tomasini (1741–1808), a violin virtuoso born in Pesaro and a friend of Haydn’s. Two centuries later, the young Baroque violin virtuoso Dmitri Smirnov, together with the Basel Chamber Orchestra under Giovanni Antonini, champions this repertoire with flying colors.