Antonio Rosetti (1750–1795)
Horn Concerto in D minor (RWV C 39)
Scoring: solo horn, 2 violins, 2 violas, basso, 2 oboes and 2 horns
First print: According to Sterling E. Murray's catalogue of Antonio Rosetti's works, there are two concertos in D minor, C 38 and C 39. C 38 was first published around 1790 by the Braunschweig publisher Spehr and has become one of Rosetti's best-known concertos today.
C 39, also in D minor, shares some themes of the first and third movements with C 38, yet it is a completely independent work. The scoring differs as well: the C 39 edited here calls for two viola parts. Why these similarities exist can only be guessed at. Rosetti, however, quoted himself very frequently. For example, the themes of the second and third movements of the Flute Concerto C 19 are identical to those of a horn concerto, and the Quartet B 17 for two horns and two clarinets contains a Romance that is thematically similar to that of a concerto for two horns.
The source for the new edition of the Horn Concerto in D minor, C 39, is a print by the publisher Sieber, issued around 1786. Sieber, himself a horn player, probably published four horn concertos and one concerto for two horns by Rosetti. He may have obtained this concerto from Rosetti during the composer's stay in Paris in 1782.
Unfortunately, only one copy of this print of C 39 survives worldwide. It is held by the Moravian Church (Herrnhut) community in Christiansfeld. This copy is missing the first and second tutti horns and the first oboe. For the new edition these parts were reconstructed, adding only what was necessary or considered certain; the Concerto C 38 was consulted for this purpose.
With this new edition, the second D minor concerto should find its way back to horn players and audiences. In the historical literature, this work was mentioned more often than C 38, which is better known today.