Hofmann, Leopold (1738-1793)

Leopold Hofmann's Concerto F1 exhibits many of the stylistic and structural characteristics encountered in C1 and A1 which are also preserved in a volume of keyboard works preserved in the Austrian National Library that belonged formerly to Hofmann’s pupil, Archduchess Elisabeth. One notable difference, however, is the binary form construction of the 3/8 finale which Hofmann more typically reserves for movements styled Tempo di Menuet. The use of rounded binary-form finales by Hofmann and others, with their obvious stylistic associations with the divertimento and related forms, once again highlights the independence of the Viennese keyboard concerto from the long-established Italianate instrumental concerto. The single most significant detail in the instrumentation of Concerto F1 concerns the role of the basso during the solo sections. It is extremely rare in his keyboard concertos for Hofmann to employ the basso to shadow the left-hand of the keyboard in solo sections–either in extended passages or at cadence points–unless the upper strings are also present.