Haydn: Flute Trios

The three trios Nos. 15, 16 and 17 (Hob. XV:15, 16 & 17) are exceptional in asking for a flute instead of a violin, the latter being accepted only as an ad libitum. Haydn undoubtedly had the special color of the flute in his mind, and these pieces gain considerably in tonal seduction when performed in the original scoring. They were written in 1790 or shortly before. The last of them has two movements only, whereas the other ones keep to the more familiar three-movement scheme.