In the overview for this course, Santiago Cañon-Valencia provides us with history and context for the Haydn C major concerto. He also gives us an outline of his personal stylistic preferences he uses when playing Haydn, and makes it clear that his interpretation lies on the more “classical” end of the spectrum versus an overly “romantic” rendition. Most important to him? Finding the many characters and joyful quality of this music.

In the first movement, we learn about the sprightly character of the dotted rhythms. Cañon-Valencia spends time teaching us how to hone in on double stops and how to tune and balance them properly. We are also given practice techniques for some of the trickiest passages.

In the cadenza, Cañon-Valencia teaches us about tasteful cadenzas. Whether we are playing our own or someone else's, it is important to feel as if we are playing in the style of Haydn! Not too romantic, and not too long. The cadenza should fit the feeling and mood of the piece.

In the second movement, we learn about pacing the long lines. A movement of deep restrained beauty, Cañon-Valencia teaches us about creating a beautiful, "classical" sound. In slow movements, we can sometimes forget the stylistic importance, but here we are reminded to always keep an ear out for the elegant and tasteful expressions.