Hofmann, Leopold (1738-1793)

A near contemporary and rival of Haydn, Leopold Hofmann was held in the highest regard in his native Vienna where he served as Kapellmeister at St Stephens Cathedral, a position to which Mozart might have succeeded had he lived. Leopold Hofmann was the most prolific and arguably the most popular composer of concertos in Vienna during the mid-18th century. He composed around 60 concertos between the late 1750s and mid-1770s for a variety of solo instruments. Some of these works notably the concertos for keyboard and violin- may have been written for his own use or as teaching pieces. The remainder, including the oboe concertos, occupy a more problematic place in Hofmanns. The oboe was not a particularly popular solo instrument in the later 18th century and concertos generally survive in comparatively few copies. Nonetheless, the fact that Hofmanns concertos for oboe (and oboe and harpsichord) can be found in Berlin, Dresden, Harburg, Budapest and Kromeriz suggests that his reputation as a composer for the instrument was well known.The present concerto was probably composed in the 1770s and no later than 1780, the year Hofmusikus Franz Xaver Frall, the owner of the manuscript upon which this edition is based, died. Frall was an oboist at the Oettingen-Wallerstein court which was noted for its fine wind music. An inventory of his property, made at the time of his death, lists two concertos by Leopold Hofmann both of which are preserved in the Oettigen-Wallerstein'sche Hofbibliothek at Schlo Harburg. Unsurprisingly, Hofmanns oboe concertos are indistinguishable from his flute concertos in terms of style and structure. They are attractive works and rewarding for the soloist. Allan Badley