Programme

Programme Notes

A Century of Classics for the Horn

Although ancient in its origins, the horn began catching up with the modern European orchestra in the 19th century. A wider spectrum of pitches became more easily accessible with the invention in 1814 of a type of valve—the piece of metal that the player presses to control the air flow. Composers like Robert Schumann gave special attention to the horn and contributed to its identification with the Romantic perspective. He was also among the first to explore the new potential of the valve horn in such unusual pieces as the Adagio and Allegro for Horn and Piano, Op 70 from 1849. One of his goals was to expand the chamber music literature for combinations of piano and underrepresented instruments like the horn. Schumann was often drawn to the drama generated by two vastly contrasting characters within his imagination. He gave them the names Eusebius (symbols for his introspective, dream-oriented side) and Florestan (a passionate, bold, agitated personality). This pair shapes the alternating spirit of restless energy and soulful warmth that shapes this music. “Never have I been more active, never happier in my art,” Schumann wrote about this period in his life.

Felix Klieser leaps ahead to 1906 for the Villanelle for Horn by the French composer Paul Dukas. This is another landmark of the horn repertoire. Dukas wrote it very quickly as a competition piece for horn students at the Paris Conservatoire (where he became a famous teacher). It therefore contains many technical challenges. The word “villanelle” refers both to a type of poetry similar to a ballad and to a genre of song (for unaccompanied voices) based on lyrics describing an idyllic setting. Dukas remakes this idea into an instrumental piece that has no words or voices but overflows with delightful melodies.

Richard Strauss grew up as the son of one of the most famous horn players in European music history—his father performed at numerous Wagner premieres in Munich—so it is no wonder that the instrument helps define the signature Strauss sound. We encounter magnificent solo parts for the horn throughout his career, in his orchestral masterpieces and great operas alike. Indeed, Strauss composed the Andante for Horn and Piano in C major specifically to honour the silver wedding anniversary of his father in 1888; in 1889, Papa Strauss would retire from his post as principal hornist of the Munich Court Orchestra. Richard Strauss originally intended the Andante for Horn and Piano in C major to be part of a sonata for horn and piano but never completed it. But, even on its own, the Andante’s glowing lyrical flow more than satisfies.

Ludwig van Beethoven also had a particular musician in mind when he composed his Sonata for Horn and Piano in F major, Op 17: the virtuoso Jan Vaclav Stich—better known as Giovanni Punto (the Italian version of his Czech name). This is an early piece, dating from 1800, which means it was written before the appearance of the valve horn. Punto would have played it with a so-called “natural horn”, which requires a different technique of placing the hand in the horn to manipulate air control, which Punto had mastered.

Beethoven had made his name in Vienna as a brilliant pianist who loved to push the instrument’s limits. Punto inspired him by doing the same with the horn. Beethoven wrote this piece—in one night, he claimed—to show off Punto’s range of performance styles (along with his own at the piano). These include alert horn calls in the first movement, songlike phrasing in the short second movement, and dancing energy in the finale. At the premiere in Vienna, the audience loved the sonata so much that they demanded an encore of the entire piece.

Programme Notes by Thomas May

Programme

Programme Notes

An Ancient Instrument Evolves along with Classical Music

The ancestors of the horn can be found among the very earliest instruments known to humans. They were likely created from using the literal horns of various animals. The horn later became associated with hunting and other activities that required strong signals (such as travel and postal delivery). But, as more sophisticated techniques evolved, the instrument became an important member of the European orchestra.

The French horn player and composer Frederic-Nicolas Duvernoy played a major role in this development. Born in 1765, he grew famous through his expressive mastery of the instrument. Duvernoy belonged to the opera orchestra in Paris and was better known even than some of its singers. He could name Napoleon among his fans.

Duvernoy had taught himself to play the horn. The dominant tradition divided players into those who focused on the instrument’s high range and others who were more comfortable with its low notes. Duvernoy pioneered a more advanced technique centred in the middle range, which was especially suitable for warm melodies. This charming Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano No 1 is the first of three chamber compositions for horn, violin and piano from after 1820. It is a brief work containing only two movements, the first slow and calm and the second at a faster pace.

While the horn gained increasing presence in the orchestra, it remained a rarity in such chamber music genres as the trio. Johannes Brahms had a special fondness for the horn. In 1865 he wrote the Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano in E-flat major, Op 40, believed by many to be the greatest chamber composition for the instrument. Felix Klieser has a deep attraction to the Romantic tone at the heart of this Trio, which emerges in the very first movement. A playful spirit enters in the second movement, but the heart of the whole work lies in the mournful Adagio, in which time itself seems to stop. It is believed that Brahms here grieves the recent death of his mother. A folk song serves as the basis for the last movement, which leads the way beyond painful memories to a cheerful conclusion.

Programme Notes by Thomas May