Leopold Hofmann (1738-1793) was born in Vienna and held a number of important positions there, including several appointments to the Court of the Emperor. As a contemporary of Franz Joseph Haydn (who bore a personal grudge against him), Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and Carlo Besozzi, Hofmann's style is typical of the period which preceded Mozart's appearance in the imperial city. In contrast to the Baroque Era, the texture of music in this so-called Preclassic Era is extraordinarily homophonic and intricately embellished. Inner voices in this style seem to have been composed almost as an afterthought. The 2 ^nd violin and viola parts of Hofmann's orchestra are only occasionally independent of the 1^st violin and bass lines respectively; when they are not doubling these parts at the unison or octave, they are doubling in thirds.

All three movements of Hofmann's Oboe Concerto in G Major (parts copied c. 1770) are set out in ritornello form. The first contains three solo episodes surrounded by four ritornelli. One finds the eighth note as the basic pulse here, likewise for the central slow movement which is composed of two solo episodes and three ritornelli. The menuetto finale also contains three solo episodes. Both outer movements contain recapitulations of their first episodes at the initiation of their final episodes; in fact, there is an attempt in both movements at sonata-form overlay.

The manuscript parts of this work come from the Court of the Öttingen-Wallersteins. Throughout it are found a host of trills and appoggiaturas, all of which are realized in the present edition. Stylistically speaking, this work is quite different from Hofmann's C Major Oboe Concerto, a Sturm und Drang composition. Here, instead, we have an Empfindsamer Stil approach, quite calm by comparison.

A plethora of open spots above the bass line clearly indicates the need for harpsichord to fill in the harmonies. I have provided a complete realization.

I would recommend playing this work with a minimum of string players, say 3-3-2-2-1. During the episodes, this should be cut back to one on a part so that the most can be made of special trio and basso continuo textures.