While Joseph Haydn is quite rightly regarded as the most important co-inventor of genres such as the symphony, the string quartet and the piano trio in the form in which they have been handed down since the middle of the 18th century, the instrumental concerts are somewhat different. They primarily served the purpose of giving the individually outstanding members of the Esterházy court orchestra the opportunity to perform as soloists. Nevertheless, one can always appreciate their quality and, upon closer listening, discover a variety of beautiful things in them. Developed from the tradition of the Baroque concerti grossi, Haydn probably created a total of about 40 solo concertos, probably four of them for violin.