Hofmann, Leopold (1738-1793)

The present concerto, advertised in Supplement VI (1771) of the Breitkopf Catalogue , was probably composed several years earlier. The work is unique among Hofmann's violoncello concertos for its unusual deployment of the orchestra. During the solo sections and for the entire second movement, which omits the conventional ritornello structure, the violoncello is accompanied by two solo violins only. This edition is based on the sole surviving source, a set of contemporary manuscript parts preserved in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz Musikabteilung mit Mendelssohn-Archiv under the signature Mus.ms.10725/2. The wrapper reads " Concerto / a / Violoncello Concertato / 2. Violini. / 2. Corni. / f / Basso / Del Sigl. Leop: Hoffmann ." The basso part is missing for the entire last movement and cadenzas have been written into the solo part by the copyist. As these cadenzas are of little musical merit and do not appear to be the work of the composer they have been omitted from the edition which otherwise presents as faithfully as possible the intentions of the composer as transmitted in this source. In keeping with Hofmann's usual practice there are no dynamic markings in the solo sections; these are left to the discretion and good taste of the performer. The style and notation of articulation and dynamic markings have been standardized throughout and, where missing from the source, reconstructed from parallel passages. These are indicated by the use of dotted slurs or brackets. Like most eighteenth-century sources, the present manuscript is very inconsistent in its notation of appoggiature ; these too have been standardized to minimize confusion. Obvious wrong notes have been corrected without comment; editorial emendations with no authority from the source are placed within brackets. Allan Badley