He showed his musical talents at five years and went to Vienna as a choir boy at 8 years. He was employed at the Eisenstadt by Prince Esterhazy for 30 years. This trumpet concerto was composed in 1796 and is one of his most popular concertos. Compared with violin and piano there are very few concertos for trumpet. This one was written for Viennese performer Anton Weidinger who was a premier keyed trumpet player.
Todays instrumet with valves replaced the keyed instrument.
A contemporary, Johann Hummel, also wrote a popular concerto for trumpet. Composed in 1761 for Prince Paul Anton a patron with a fondness for Italy. The symphonies came from the early 1770's. The 43rd, had a nickname added in the 19th century. This one is of chamber proportions.