It’s common to denigrate Haydn’s keyboard concertos for not being as great as Mozart’s despite the fact that most are early works, and certainly none the worse for that. The only one that’s part of the international repertoire today is the latest, No. 11 in D, and in this as in the other works Massimo Palumbo delivers a performance as high-spirited and exciting as anyone could ask. Swift tempos and punchy accents imbue the concerto’s famous concluding Hungarian Rondo with as much color and spice as possible, but he also has the sensitivity of touch to carry off the music’s more lyrical and reflective sections.
In fact, there are several little-known gems here, all similarly well played. I am thinking of the two concertos in D and G, Hob. XVIII:2 and 4, and the glorious minor-key slow movement of the Concertino in C Hob. XIV:11. There’s more to enjoy in this music than its detractors seem willing to admit. Even if it’s not consistently at the level of Haydn’s best work, it has plenty of energy, charm, good tunes, and seldom lapses into dullness or routine–at least not in those pieces unambiguously attributed (a couple of them, such as the Concerto No. 9 in G, may not be by Haydn at all). Never mind: excellent accompaniments from the Austrian Chamber Orchestra, Vienna complement Palumbo’s high spirits, and the sound is extremely vivid, with perhaps a touch of hardness to the piano tone in loud passages. Easily recommendable.
