# French Horn Concertos



## Marcel

Choose the ten French Horn concertos that you like most in order of preference.


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## Guest

In rough order of preference:

Mozart
Schumann (Konzertstuck)
Ligeti (Hamburg)
Gliere
Strauss
Hosokawa
Hindemith
Aho
Sallinen
Lindberg (Campana In Aria)

That's all I can honestly think of right now (well, plus Penderecki's horn concerto, which I haven't made up my mind on yet), though there are some other concertante-ish works with great horn parts. One of my all-time favorites being Messiaen's Des Canyons Aux Etoiles, with a horn as one of the 4 solo instruments.

I would also like to hear the horn concertos of Carter and Knussen soon.

I'm sure someone will mention Malcolm Arnold or John Williams or something...


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## dgee

I have a little history in this matter having played/performed a number of them. I wouldn't identify ten I like best but I'll happily provide some arbitrary opinions on some:

Mozarts are all good, obviously - don't forget the Concert Rondo and the Quintet
There's a bunch of "other classical/baroque" concertos - the best ones I know are Haydn 1, Michael Haydn (concertino), Leopold Mozart, Forster
While I'm thinking about it, Brandenburg 1 would be better if the last movement was removed
The Weber is pretty stupid but highly entertaining
Strauss 2 is unsurpassed. If this is not your favourite horn concerto go and listen to it again
Schumann Konzertstuck for 4 horns is a much better piece than you would expect
Ligeti Hamburg - wow!!!!
Knussen should be on everyone's list - it's absolutely brilliant
Gliere is ghastly mush
Malcolm Arnold 2 is the most attractive of the other English post WW2 concertos (Jacob is yuck)
Mid-century Europe: Hindemith, Atterberg, Pauer, Tomasi, Schoeck are quite enjoyable
I don't want to hear Strauss 1 ever again 
There are some other contemporary works with horn/s in solo or prominent roles but I can't be bothered going into those now

I've heard better Carter than his later concerto works but must check the horn piece again some time


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## Marcel

I tried studying French Horn but never I could since I had insurmountable problems with the mouthpiece. Years before I had passed the same with the trumpet. I still love, however, metal instruments. In terms of the horn I like the four concerts of Mozart and Richard Strauss concert. For their opinions I am getting to know the rest and I'm enjoying thanks to its recommendations. Greetings and thanks.


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## Marcel

Reinhold Glière's Horn Concert is wonderfull!


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## hpowders

I like the four Mozart horn concertos; also the two by Richard Strauss are very fine too.

Special mention : Siegfried's horn call in Wagner's Ring. Superb!


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## thebakerman

ten? that must be the entire horn concerto repertoire (J.K.)

I never get tired of the Mozart concertos. Ligeti's Hamburg is great.


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## Guest

dgee said:


> Gliere is ghastly mush


It's feels a bit cliche, but it's so nostalgic and stately 

Stalin must have loved it.


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## Rhombic

Glière
R Strauss 1
R Strauss 2
Atterberg
Ligeti
Mozart 4
Haydn 2
Franz Strauss
Mozart 2
Mozart 3


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## Rhombic

As a French horn player, I think that there is a major repertoire acknowledgement problem: despite the abundance - abundance - ABUNDANCE of 20th century concertos, both early 20th century and experimental ones, together with 21st century concertos, the French horn player seldom hears about most of them (e. g. Atterberg) and very rarely plays them, compared to the omnipresent R. Strauss, Mozart and Haydn which, for no apparent reason, are constantly being played. At a medium level this is normal because of their relative ease, but players such as Stefan Dohr are requested to play the excessively known concertos. They should really wear out.


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## bigshot

I've heard the Mozart ones a million times and I sure haven't worn them out. It's surprising that someone who could actually PLAY them would get tired of them.


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## nightscape

arcaneholocaust said:


> I'm sure someone will mention Malcolm Arnold or *John Williams* or something...


Right on! :cheers:


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## Vaneyes

Mozart, R. Strauss Horn Concerti, and Brahms Violin, Horn, Piano Trio. That pretty well exhausts my horn worth. Thanks for askin'.:tiphat:


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## hpowders

Yes. The Brahms is a haunting work. Sorry he didn't compose a horn concerto or two.


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## flamencosketches

Bump. 

I got a new CD that I've been loving lately: Dennis Brain playing the Horn Concertos of Richard Strauss & Paul Hindemith w/ the Philharmonia Orchestra, on EMI. I especially like the two Strauss, but the Hindemith are very good, too. Brain is clearly a master of his instrument. 

Now I'm hooked: what are some more great horn concertos? I am looking forward to hearing more of the Mozart horn concertos, of which I have ordered a disc of Dennis Brain playing them with the same orchestra. Who else? I understand both Joseph and Michael Haydn wrote horn concertos; I should check them out. What about something from the Romantic/Late Romantic period? I am sure Strauss was not the only one to write great concertos for this instrument. 

Any thoughts on the Penderecki HC?


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## Art Rock

*Malcolm Arnold:
*Concerto No. 1 for Horn and Orchestra, Op. 11
Concerto No. 2 for Horn and Strings, Op. 58

Kalevi Aho:
Horn Concerto (for Horn & Chamber Orchestra)

Benjamin Lees:
Horn concerto

Oliver Knussen:
Horn concerto

Five from the past 80 years. All worthwhile IMO (YMMV).


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## Gray Bean

I love the Gliere concerto. 
Also, the Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings.


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## MarkW

I love the horn, but the Mozart concerti have bored me to death for decades. Strauss's are good (No. 2 better). Schumann's Concertstucke is a gem. My favorite horn work has long been Britten's Serenade, followed by Brahms' Trio.
(Speaking of trios, the one in Beethoven's Eighth for clarinet, horn, and bass I love.)


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## Allegro Con Brio

Schumann’s Konzerstucke for Four Horns is an interesting, if slightly bombastic little work that is definitely worth a listen. It was written to showcase the newly-invented valve horn.


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## Gray Bean

Yes indeed, the Trio of the Beethoven Eighth is one of my favorite musical “spots” in all of Beethoven. Pure delight. I would add the Opus 40 of Brahms to my list of favorite works with horn. Also, the Poulenc Sextet and the Dohnanyi Sextet, op. 37.


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## Heck148

I like the Mozart concerto, have accompanied them many times.. same with Strauss #1...
The Schumsnn Konzertstuck for 4 Horns is wonderful, and very difficult... 1st part is a bear - very high...gets up to concert A (above treble staff....Haydn #51 gets up to concert Bb numerous times)
The Britten Serenade is a great piece..beautifully written, very effective...

We accompanied Eric Ruske in the Weber " "Concertino"....in one cadenza part, the hornist is supposed to play a chord progression...plays a note, sings another, then the 3rd note sounding by harmonics....he got it at the rehearsal, but it didn't sound at the concerts...
I heard Robert Routch, performing with the Paul Winter Consort, play an entire Bach style chord progression using that technique...that was impressive!!


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## CnC Bartok

Allegro Con Brio said:


> Schumann's Konzerstucke for Four Horns is an interesting, if slightly bombastic little work that is definitely worth a listen. It was written to showcase the newly-invented valve horn.


That's a fantastic piece! Don't care if it's a bit (!) showy, it's a very loveable piece of Schumann.


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## Enthusiast

^ And anyone who finds it bombastic should check out the lovely Holliger recording, where everything is in the right perspective.

As for horn concertos to follow Strauss with, wasn't Franz (the father of Richard) a horn virtuoso? I'm not sure what concertante horn works you get in a romantic vein after the Strauss. Quite a few modern composers wrote horn concertos, though. The Penderecki is worth a listen as is the Knussen. I can also remember liking the concerto by Welsh composer, Alun Hoddinott. Going back, aside from Mozart, there is also the Brahms trio.


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## flamencosketches

I wonder if anyone ever orchestrated the Brahms trio in a concertante way, for horn soloist & orchestra. Not that the original needs any changing, it's a masterpiece. But Brahms's chamber music can stand up to outside orchestration well, if Schoenberg's orchestral take on the Piano Quartet in G minor is any indication.


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## JAS

Enthusiast said:


> As for horn concertos to follow Strauss with, wasn't Franz (the father of Richard) a horn virtuoso?


According to the booklet with my CD set of the concertos performed by Hermann Baumann, Strauss's father was indeed a famous horn player. It also says that he found the first concerto "too difficult to play."


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## Joachim Raff

I love Weber's Horn Concertino in E Major. So pleasant and light in structure and makes me smile every time I listen to it.

If i was to go for obscure one i would try Gordon Jacob's Horn Concerto. Some beautiful music and the slow movement is to die for.


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## Josquin13

As for French horn concertos, Charles Koechlin's Poéme for Horn and Orchestra, Op. 70b should be mentioned. It is a 1927 orchestration of Koechlin's earlier Horn Sonata, Op. 70. IMO, Koechlin composed & orchestrated exceptionally well for wind instruments. He reminds me a bit of Haydn in that regard.

Op. 70b (1927):





Koechlin also wrote other works for the horn, including Fifteen Pieces for horn (or saxophone), Op. 180, and as noted, his earlier Horn Sonata, Op. 70:

Op. 180 (1942): 



Op. 70--Horn Sonata, for horn & piano (played by Barry Tuckwell & Daniel Blumenthal):
1- 



2- 



3- 




Btw, Federico Mondelci & Kathryn Stott made an excellent recording of the Fifteen pieces, Op. 180 on a saxophone & piano:










Although not a horn concerto--nor even a work for a traditional horn, another French work for "English horn" that rarely gets mentioned & is a great favorite of mine is Claude Debussy's Rhapsodie pour Cor Anglais et Piano (or Rhapsody for English Horn and Piano). The English horn is actually a large oboe--50% longer, with a different reed, & pitched a fifth below an ordinary oboe, in the F key rather than C key. (It has the same range as an alto saxophone.) I thought I'd bring it up since it's such a rarity to hear:

Here Debussy's Rhapsodie is played by Nicholas Daniel, with pianist Julius Drake:


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## Olias

My music education degree is with a concentration on horn so these are some of the pieces I enjoyed playing the most:

Haydn - Horn Concerto 1 and 2 (#2 MIGHT actually be by Michael Haydn)
Mozart - Horn Concerto 1, 2, 3, 4, Horn Quintet, Concert Rondo, and the K452 Quintet
Beethoven - Horn Sonata Op 17 and Wind Sextet Op 71
Brahms - Horn Trio
Strauss - Horn Concerto 1
Dukas - Villanelle
Saint Saens - Morceau de concert, Op.94
Cooke - Nocturnes for Soprano, Horn, and Piano

Not to mention all the great wind quintet literature out there.


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## Enthusiast

I missed out a favourite in my earlier post: Atterberg's Horn Concerto ... a really lovely work.


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## Olias

FYI - Here is my video walkthrough of Haydn's Horn Concerto #2

http://somethingclassical.blogspot.com/p/haydn-horn-concerto-2.html


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## Olias

Also Mozart's Horn Concerto #3

http://somethingclassical.blogspot.com/p/mozart-horn-concerto-3.html


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## Enthusiast

And there is also this recent CD which is something of a delight.


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## ThaNotoriousNIC

Another French horn player here. I agree with the previous player's sentiments on the repertoire that is acknowledged, which is of course heavily oriented towards the Mozart concertos. While I enjoy the Mozart concertos a lot and I like playing them (the first concerto takes the cake for me), there are some other concertos and pieces that feature the horn that I really like:

1. Telemann Horn Concerto in D: I enjoy sight-reading this one a ton. Definitely good for polishing your chops and getting some Baroque style french horn play in.






2. Beethoven Horn Sonata: More mainstream selection in my opinion as a lot of people I knew practiced this piece for juries at my high school. I personally prefer the Telemann concerto but this is a fun piece to play. Light.






3. Rosetti Horn Concerto in D Minor: Never played this one before, but this is one that I have heard in my quest to listen to the influences Mozart had when creating his horn concertos. I don't think I have heard much buzz about his horn concertos before, but I find these to be of similar quality to the Mozart concertos. Need to someday acquire some sheet music for this one to play.






Aside from these three, portions of Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 and the Minuet for French Horn in Handel's Water Music No. 1 come to my mind.


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## Gray Bean

Back when I was playing in orchestras and giving recitals (I'm retired), the two Hindemith Sonatas were on my programs often. I also like his Concerto for Horn.

A few others that I played:
Bozza: En Foret
Glazunov: Reverie
Beethoven: Horn Sonata
Vintner: Hunter's Moon 
Dukas: Villanelle
And my favorite...Brahms Trio.


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