The Concertino by Michael Haydn is in fact a concertante movement from an orchestral serenade. Although he never achieved the lasting fame of his older brother Franz Joseph, he was a powerful influence in his time (his pupils included Weber) and a skilful and prolific composer, producing thirty symphonies, numerous concertos, operas and a great deal of church music. The history of this work is slightly confusing, as it was one of a number of movements that were recycled and re-grouped into different works at different times, but it appears to have been written during the early 1760s. In this concertante movement the bassoon takes a very prominent solo line (including the opportunity for a cadenza), exploring—as Mozart did just a few years later—the instrument’s lyrical qualities over a wide range of notes.
from notes by Laurence Perkins © 2002
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