Horn and Piano: A stroll through the centuries The history of the horn literature is strongly shaped by the history of the instrument itself. Before the invention of the valve horn only the natural harmonic overtones could be played, thus limiting the instrument’s melodic possibilities – notes between the natural harmonic overtones could only be generated by way of the hand stopping technique, and they sounded significantly different. Apart from orchestral works, composing for the horn was therefore not very appealing. Nevertheless some of the horn virtuosos were ambitious enough to show their skills in a chamber music setting. One of these artists was Jan Vaclav Stich, who became famous in Europe under his Italian-influenced pseudonym Giovanni Punto. In 1799 he asked Ludwig van Beethoven to write a horn sonata similar to the «Sonata for Piano and Violoncello (op.5)» or «Piano and Violin (op.12)». Thanks to Beethoven’s great mastery the limitation to the natural harmonic overtones is not immediately obvious. Starting with a typical horn signal,
a spirited theme- and motif-related performance evolves, completed by the piano’s sonorous virtuosity, countering the horn’s volume at any time. The Horn finds its Tune The invention of the valve horn in the mid 1800’s opened unlimited musical opportunities for concert and chamber music. Renowned composers rendered outstanding services to the enhancement of the horn’s repertoire. Robert Schumann wrote an «Adagio und Allegro für Pianoforte und Horn», with the addition «Ad libitum violoncello or violin», thus, without doubt, hoping for a much quicker and bigger spread of his work. In this pre-study to the immediately following «Konzertstück op.86» (for four horns and orchestra) for the solo hornist of the Dresden court orchestra, Julius Schlitterlau, Schumann shows in the Adagio the extent to which the horn is suited for music with a lyrically intimate character, thanks to the instrument’s technical achievements in the Adagio. The virtuosic Allegro, characterized by Clara Schumann as «brilliant, fresh and passionate», presents an exhilarating partnership of these entirely different instruments. Miniatures in the spirit of the romantic and post-romantic period In 1847 a certain Franz Strauss became a member of Munich’s Royal court orchestra and set the benchmark for his instrument, french horn, for more than four centuries. Even Richard Wagner, who often expressed disapproval regarding the musically rather conservative Strauss, acknowledged his extraordinary talent: «To be sure, old Strauss is an insufferable fellow, but when he blows the horn, you can’t be mad at him!» His compositions were not well known during his lifetime, though some of them, especially the «Notturno for Horn and Piano», a charming and romantic gem, by all means deserve our full attention. In the music world’s awareness he was first and foremost
the Father of Richard, who obtained world fame with his tonal compositions and operas. Richard Strauss wrote two horn concertos, the first one at the age of only 19 (1883), the second almost 60 years later (1942). Six years after his first concert, in close chronological proximity to his famous «Don Juan», he planned a horn sonata, unfortunately only completing the middle movement. He dedicated this Andante in 1888 to «his dear, esteemed Father» on the occasion of his silver wedding. Only a few years before, another renowned French romanticist wrote a romance for horn and piano: Camille Saint-Saëns. Not only was he a versatile composer, conductor, organ player, piano virtuoso and teacher, but as a child prodigy he mastered
the Latin language at an early age and was avidly interested in astronomy, philosophy, mathematics and various other scientific disciplines. His «Romance op. 36» appeals through its magically lyrical atmosphere which is perfectly suited to the velvety sound of the horn. Another romantic gem was composed by Parisian organ player and composer Théodore Salomé. Originally written for organ, it was transcribed for the piano and the horn by the performers of this CD. The wide melodic arcs are perfectly suited
to the horn, and the lively accompaniment appeals through interesting harmonic developments. Paul Dukas wrote the Villanelle in 1906 as a demanding exam piece for the Paris Conservatoire’s horn class. The title refers to a traditional and merry song category from 16th century Italy. Apart from the technical challenges – stopped notes, fast scales, playing without valves using natural horn technique – the piece convinces with its lively melody, and is therefore one of the most popular performance pieces in the horn’s repertoire. The Russian Trias Russian composer Alexander Scrjabin was a brilliant pianist who in public solely played his own pieces. Apart from several piano works and symphonic literature, he composed only one work of chamber music, the «Romance for Horn and Piano». It was written between 1894 and 1897 for the famous French hornist Louis Savart and exists only as a pencil draft. During this part of his creative period, which could be described as his «romantic» one, Scrjabin tried to equal his role models such as Frédéric Chopin. From the same period originate the well-known «Préludes op.11», the «2nd Piano Sonata» and the «Piano Concerto in F sharp minor». Reinhold Glière was a Kiev native and later became, next to his teaching in Moscow, director of the Kiev Conservatory. He was highly respected in the Soviet Union and received several medals and awards. Glière’s style was greatly committed to the Russian National Movement. His melodics were ethnically influenced, the harmonics were extraordinarily traditional and based on Russian heritage. Of his 11 short pieces (op. 35) for various instruments with piano accompaniment only the last two were designed for the horn. However it was merely Nr. 6 that gained acceptance as the most famous piece, although it had initially been composed for the clarinet and therefore had to be transcribed for the horn’s performance. Alexander Glasunow was born into a wealthy family in St. Petersburg. His music brings together Russian nationalistic tendencies with the achievements of the all dominating Tschaikowsky. As in the music of the slightly younger Glière there are tendencies towards distinctly folksong-like themes, orientalistic harmonics und exotisms. His «Rêverie for Horn and Piano» has been passed on as a chamber orchestra version and could as well be named «Mélodie», because the miniature convinces mostly through its intense melody. Renunciation from Romanticism A new trend called Modernism emerged around 1900, dissolving tonality and changing the entire music history of the 20th century through various stages (dodecaphonism, serialism, spectralism). Neo-classicism as its counterpart was a style that simplified tonality as well as motifs and rhythms of the late romantic period blatantly, postulating clarity and classicism as an ideal. Now there was no more aiming at romantic expressiveness, it was all about composing music that gave pleasure, as Jean Francaix, representative of this movement, put it: «musique pour faire plaisir». His short divertimento for horn and piano consists of a ballad-like middle movement, accompanied by two humorous and light-footed miniatu- res that certainly give great pleasure to the performers. Nizza-born composer Eugène Bozza’s music ranges from neoclassicism to impressionism. He graduated from the Paris Conservatoire, was holder of the renowned «Prix de Rome» in 1934, conducted at the Opéra Comique in Paris and later became director of the Conservatoire in Valenciennes. His compositions often paid homage to his native Provence. The favoured role of chamber music and the particular consideration and knowledge of the wind instruments is striking in his works. «En fôret» (in the forest) uses the instrumental possibilities of the horn to the fullest, resulting in a vividly graphic tonal painting rich in variety. Bozza may have refrained from using programmatic subtitles such as Robert Schumann had almost 100 years ago in his work «Waldszenen» ( Forest Scenes), but his phantasy is exuberant and evokes numerous moods and episodes. Text: Matthias Arter Translation: Renate Stahel