Valencia Baryton Project: Haydn

The Strad Issue: April 2026

Description: A further volume of out-of-the-way Haydn proves seductive

Musicians: Valencia Baryton Project

Works: Haydn: Treasures from the Eszterháza Palace vol.3: Baryton Trios nos.26, 50, 57, 72, 80 and 82

Catalogue number: NAXOS 8574708

These three intrepid players, ensconced in the airy acoustic of a Spanish castle, reach the third volume of their slow-burn exploration of Haydn’s trios for baryton, viola and cello. There are over 125 of these works, composed for Prince Nikolaus ‘the Magnificent’ Esterházy around the same time as the opp.9, 17 and 20 string quartets – demonstrating their composer’s unstinting work ethic and inexhaustible creativity.

The cover art shows the baryton, slightly smaller than the cello, with six bowed strings but also ten metal sympathetic strings threaded under the fingerboard and fastened to the body of the instrument; these resonate freely or can be plucked with the left thumb.

The effect resembles the sound of a viol, the plaintive default being coloured by a certain rasp in more involved passages but opening out in melodic moments to a throaty singing tone.

It’s an insight into the way those long evenings were passed at Nikolaus’s draughty palace out on his Hungarian swamp, but it’s not all mournful and sombre. Trio no.26 is an unexpectedly cheerful work throughout its brief Presto, weightier Andante and closing Minuet.

The central Minuet of no.80 demonstrates the range of plucked and bowed sounds the baryton has to offer, as does the central Allegro of no.72, with Matthew Baker’s ingenious cadenza. Intriguing – and oddly addictive.

DAVID THREASHER