The concertos by Michael Haydn and Leopold Mozart are not what you might expect – transcriptions of horn concertos. According to Christian Lindberg in his fascinating notes, they are genuine classical trombone concertos, almost certainly written for a celebrated Austrian trombone virtuoso, Thomas Gschladt.

What initially threw scholars trying to identify the manuscripts was the presence of lip trills, not thought possible on a trombone. It has since become clear that such trills were indeed part of the 18th-century trombonist’s technique, as Lindberg demonstrates here with aplomb.

Michael Haydn’s ‘Concerto’, from 1764, consists of three movements of a 10-movement work later published as a Divertimento in D. The virtuosic opening Allegro spiritoso is very jolly, and the pensive central Andantino (with plentiful trills) was admired by Mozart.

Leopold Mozart’s concerto was also part of a larger work, a Serenade from 1755 which had two concertante movements for trumpet; on hearing Gschladt play, Leopold added three movements. He included a spectacular cadenza in the first movement and an expressive, almost Romantic, Andante which Lindberg plays beautifully. Wagenseil’s Two Movements for Trombone is of more doubtful lineage, amiable enough but, like the concerto by Albrechtsberger, not rising much above a routine level of invention. The pert finale of the latter would make a good encore.

Lindberg’s bravura is thrilling, while his easy phrasing and use of light and shade make the most of the more conventional writing. The accompaniments are admirably clean and stylish and the recording is convincingly balanced.

The bonus items are samplers of other collections with Lindberg as conductor. The excerpt from his concertante work for flute (beautifully played by Sharon Bezaly) is atmospheric, with some intoxicating bird sounds; the Prelude and Dance by Mats Larsson Gothe (b1965) is thornier, rhythmically insistent. Both are well recorded.