Hoffmeister, Franz Anton - Concerto No.3 E major for 2 Horns

It has meanwhile become clear that Hoffmeister's output for horn is more extensive than previously thought. So far, three concertos for horn, three concertos for 2 horns and a concerto for 3 horns, unfortunately preserved only in its middle movement, are known.

The present Concerto No. 3 in E major was found in the estate of the Munich horn player Josef Suttner, who died in 1874. The title on the cover sheet of the first solo horn part reads:

Concerto / für 2 Waldhörner mit Begleitung von 2 Violinen / Viola, Basso, 2 Flauti und 2 Corni / von / F. A. Hoffmeister , 1783 / Corno Primo Principale / J. J.

The manuscript copy had been rearranged from E major to E-flat major; for this first edition, the E major version has been restored. The solo writing is extraordinarily demanding: the concerto uses a range that very few soloists can manage even today. At almost 30 minutes, it is also unusually long.

In this first edition, the concerto is numbered 3. This is not an indication of chronology; it merely serves to distinguish the three concertos for 2 horns, all of which were composed in the same key.