Chamber Music Corner—Johannes Matthias Sperger’s Cassation No. 3
by Layne Anspach
Hello musicians!
Johannes Matthias Sperger’s Cassation No. 3 will be the focus of this month’s Chamber Music Corner. Sperger (1750-1812), a double bassist and composer, was born in Feldsberg (now Valtice), Czechia in 1750. His earliest training was from an organist in Feldsberg, but he went on to study with Johann Georg Albrechtsberger in Vienna. Considered a leading double bass player of his day, Sperger was employed in a number of courts but worked longest at the court in Ludwigslust from 1789 until his death in 1812.
Sperger’s compositional output is extensive, including 45 symphonies, 18 double bass concerti, and many chamber works. His Cassation No. 3 is also cataloged as Divertimento in D Major, M.C II:21. The work is for horn, viola, and double bass, and it is closely related to the trio for flute, viola, and double bass, M.C II:20.
The work is in four movements. The first, Moderato, rotates the primary melody between each instrument in a typical classical style. There are sixteenth note runs that add flourishes to the movement as well. Andante poco adagio begins with a horn melody which is passed to the viola. The double bass assumes the melody in the middle section before the opening material returns once more to close the movement.
The third movement, Menuett and Trio, begins with the viola leading the melody, then passing it to the horn with the bass continually supporting. The roles in the first trio are reversed as the horn takes the lead first followed by the viola. After a return to the menuett, a second trio features the bass (no doubt showing off Sperger’s own skill). The final movement, Andante con variazioni and Allegro, starts with the melody in the horn before the viola takes over in the first variation. Not surprisingly, in the second variation the bass takes over the melodic presentation. The third variation sees the return of the theme, carried by the horn, supported by active triplets in the viola. The work ends with the Allegro in compound meter and is propelled by the viola and bass with the horn as the supportive participant.
The reference recording features hornist Ab Koster on the album Rarities for Double Bass (Christophorus, 2007).
Report: Northwest Horn Symposium
Northwest Horn Symposium
by Martin King
The 2024 Northwest Horn Symposium was held April 12-14, 2024, at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, hosted by Assistant Professor of Horn Martin D. King. This is the first time that WSU has hosted a regional symposium. The symposium welcomed featured artists Bernhard Scully, Charles “Skip” Snead, and the US Army Brass Quintet. Over 100 high school students, university students, avocational players, and professional players from around the region attended the event, and we hosted eight vendors as well. We hosted a regional artist recital, presentations on everything from jazz horn to the transition from natural horn to valve horn, a mass ensemble, and an after-concert featuring a jazz jam session coordinated by Mike Simpson. There was a high school solo competition, university solo competition, orchestral mock audition, and a quartet competition. The WSU Horn Ensemble and the Central Washington University Horn Ensemble both performed at this event.
Horn on Record
by Ian Zook
Volume 15—Adriaan van Woudenberg
This issue of Horn on Record will explore an often overlooked and vitally important piece of chamber music, the Wind Quintet, Op. 26 by Arnold Schoenberg, recorded by Dutch hornist Adriaan van Woudenberg and the Danzi Quintet. Schoenberg composed his Quintet in August 1924, and it was premiered the following month. This recording of van Woudenberg was released by Philips in 1961.
Adriaan van Woudenberg (b. 1925) was the solo horn of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam from 1944-1985. His studies were all with Richard Sell, then solo horn of Concertgebouw, and van Woudenberg was appointed as second horn in the orchestra before his final exams were completed at the Conservatory. Once he moved to the solo horn role after Sell, van Woudenberg played under Willem Mengelberg, Eduard van Beinum, and Bernard Haitink during their tenures as chief conductors. Across his career he taught at the Sweelinck, Tilburg, and Maastricht Conservatories, and also the Musikhochshule in Trossigen, Germany.
Van Woudenberg was also a longtime member of the Danzi Wind Quintet, founded in 1956 by flutist Frans Vester. This quintet was formed specifically to perform the Dutch premiere of Schoenberg’s Wind Quintet in 1958 at the Holland Festival–the culmination of 107 rehearsals since the quintet’s inception! Known for their expertise in contemporary music, van Woundenberg’s Danzi Quintet subsequently toured Italy, Germany, Russia, and America, and performed at the World Exhibition in Montréal, Canada, and had works written for them by Rob de Bois, Ton de Leeuw, Misha Mengelberg, Peter Schat, Josef Tal, and Jan van Vlijmen.
The International Horn Society recognized Adriaan van Woudenberg’s influence at the Symposuim in London in 2014, making him an Honorary Member.
Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg was a dynamic figure in 20th century music history. He transitioned from an early compositional career saturated in the post-Romantic harmonic style with works like Verklärte Nacht (1899) and Guerrelieder (1913) to his methods aimed at the democratizing of the tonal system through atonalism. In the early 1920s, Schoenberg introduced his “twelve-tone row” system, where a set of the twelve discreet pitches of the chromatic scale serve as the “key” of the work and can be written successively as a melody or motif and simultaneously organized harmonically. This tone row can be further manipulated from its original form by means of transposition, inversion, retrograde, and retrograde inversion.
After introducing this tonal landscape in his Piano Suite, Op. 25 in 1925, Schoenberg launched into the first large scale work using the dodecaphonic method with his Wind Quintet, Op. 26. This is a groundbreaking work for both woodwind quintet and chamber ensemble writing, and it is extremely difficult in every possible respect for all performers. Schoenberg not only uses a unique tonal language, he also compositionally structures “developing variation” throughout: these brief motivic cells transform through intermixing degrees of rhythmic, melodic, or pitch contour and can do so in rapid succession and across an expanded scale. This can be challenging to listeners as there are few concrete “tunes” to grasp on initial hearings; however, repeated study and score review are illuminating exercises. Thankfully, performers benefit from Schoenberg’s use of notating primary and secondary voices with indications of Hauptstimme and Nebenstimme in the score!
With the amount of rehearsal the Danzi Quintet clearly invested in their pursuit of this quintet, we are the beneficiaries of a recording that not only pulls attention to the needed prevailing voices, but offers nuance of phrase, impeccable intonation, and masterful interplay of instrumental timbre. Van Woudenberg’s performance in this recording is truly inspiring—he deftly covers the entire range of the horn, dances through wicked chromatic figurations, and can bury his tone within the woodwind texture or proclaim his presence authoritatively, often in consequent musical moments.
Our listening begins with the closing moments of the first movement, where van Woudenberg zips through fiendish passagework, cycling through the tone row (E♭, G, A, B, C♯, C, B♭, D, E, F♯, A♭, F) with practiced ease and efficiency. The flute recapitulates the movement’s opening motive, and van Woudenberg’s gentle melodic tone and pin-point threading of large interval leaps bring the movement to a close:
The second movement, labelled scherzando, demonstrates the Danzi Quintet’s wonderful interplay of sound and texture, weaving their lines and articulations to create a dance-like feel, even if the tonal language doesn’t easily cooperate. Van Woudenberg binds everything together, carrying an almost Mahlerian scherzo tune, with a few added high-octane outbursts:
The etwas fliessender section of the third movement intertwines a supple triplet figure through the winds, with the horn taking some beautiful lines. The music then dissolves into a quirky waltz:
Our last excerpt is the ending of the fourth movement, rondo, in which van Woudenberg unleashes his mighty orchestral sound, honed for the Concertgebouw, and the ensemble bursts with energy to the final cadence:
If you are curious to discover this fascinating chamber work by Arnold Schoenberg, then I urge you to go to Discogs and put your own copy on the turntable! The dedication of the Danzi Quintet to bring this piece to life is remarkable and a grand testament to their desire to invest in the musical creativity of Schoenberg’s dodecaphony. Thank you for reading Horn on Record!
Second International Horn Festival in Mexico
Second International Horn Festival in Mexico
by Mauricio Soto
The Second International Horn Festival was held at the Universidad Panamericana in Mexico from March 24-28, 2024. With the participation of more than 100 students and teachers from 18 Mexican states, the Festival featured recitals, lectures, group warm-ups, and more. We welcomed the participation of Ernie Tovar (Philadelphia Orchestra) and 13 distinguished teachers who live in Mexico. Compositions by Mexican composers Carlos Chávez, Rodrigo Lomán, Alexis Aranda, José Luis Guzman Wolffer, and others were performed. Performances of music from other parts of the world included works by Jane Vignery (Belgium), Ida Gotkovsky (France), and the world premiere of Marigold Fields for 8 horns by composer Aaron Bartos (USA).
Report: Israeli Horn Day
Israeli Horn Day
by Aviram Freiberg
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Jörg Brückner and pianist Raphael Skorka
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On Friday, March 29, 2024, hundreds of Israeli horn students, professionals and amateurs of all ages and levels of playing gathered at the Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Tel-Aviv, home of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, for the bi-annual Israeli horn day. Due to the covid pandemic, this celebration had been postponed but finally took place after a hiatus of several years. Luckily, even the war outbreak last October couldn’t hinder this special event.
The Israeli horn day was organized by Mafte’ach (key) program, run by the IPO, whose aim is to allow children from the geographical and social periphery the opportunity to play musical instruments, and to learn and experience music. The program is held in collaboration with IPO members, and its concerts are named in memory of the late Ruth Gottesman.
The day opened with a recital by our special guest, Jörg Brückner, collaborating with pianist Raphael Skorka. Their program, fabulously executed, included Dukas’ Villanelle, followed by an Israeli piece for solo horn by Yitzhak Yedid, Lament in Memoriam of Ora Boasson-Horev, and it was brought to a rousing conclusion with Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro. The recital was hosted by IPO hornist Michal Mosek. As an encore, professional Israeli horn players joined Mr. Brückner for a moving performance of Ha’Tikva, Israel’s national anthem. After the recital, participants divided into different groups, according to age and level, to participate in various lectures, workshops, and playing activities. Among these events was a conversation with Jörg Brückner, hosted by IPO hornist Hagai Shalom, as well as workshops held by IPO assistant principal horn, Dalit Segal, and other leading Israeli horn players and teachers, including Ruti Rozman-Varon, Chezy Nir, Tsviki Moran, and Barak Yeivin, who conducted a play-along session for young players. A yoga class for horn players was conducted by IPO violist and yoga instructor Gili Radian-Sade and hornist Gal Raviv.
The finale was a concert by some of our professional players. Ruti Rozman-Varon, accompanied by her daughter Gal Varon on bassoon as basso continuo played a Telemann concerto for horn and flute (recorder) on the natural horn. Also participating were players from the IPO, ISO (Israeli Symphony Orchestra), leading pedagogues, and retired professionals like Tzippi Cheryl Pellat and myself. IPO trombonist Micha Davis conducted a horn choir of all participants to conclude this very special day.
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Finale Concert
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The horn day was an excellent opportunity to promote the IHS and its activities, and we even recruited a new IHS member, Aviad Meitar!
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Ruti Rozman-Varon and young participants
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I truly hope this day was significant for the young players, who, as one can see in the photo, are mostly very young beginners. I had seven of my own students participating, and they all had a wonderfully inspiring experience.
Upcoming IHS Podcasts
with James Boldin
- April 15: Bernhard Scully
- May 1: Bonus Episode—Pedagogy Interview with Richard King, by Daniel Grabois
- May 15: Panel Discussion on Hermann Baumann with Ab Koster, Joseph Ognibene, Justin Sharp, and J. Bernardo Silva
- June 15: Marshall Sealy
- July 15: Monica Martinez
- August 15: Kate Warren
Find all podcasts on the Podcast archive page on the International Horn Society website. Just scroll through the list to discover the many excellent interviews. These are great for listening while commuting, exercising, and relaxing!
Interview with Yun Zeng
by Austris Apenis
AA: You have just won the legendary solo horn position in the Berlin Philharmonic. What an achievement! Congratulations! How were you feeling on the audition day?
YZ: Thank you so much! I'm actually not a very experienced auditionee. The audition for Berlin was only my second audition. My first was for Staatskapelle Berlin, a year and a half ago. So, I would say I was really nervous and even shaking a bit on stage. And playing alone in the main hall of the Philharmonic is not easy at all. Although it has great acoustics, it's still a huge space. It seemed very challenging to bring a clear and rounded sound all the way to the last row where a few orchestra members were sitting. I was also very glad to meet and talk with them and to have the chance to make friends with some of the greatest horn players of our time. Everyone was so excited and so lovely backstage. I was the last one who played at the final round. I went back to the practice room and made phone calls to several friends, trying to get rid of my anxiety. Shortly, the stage manager told us to come out for the results. I packed everything and ran into cellist Solène Kermarrec on my way out. She caught me happily: “Well played! Congratulations, you won the audition!” She actually said it in German, and I didn't understand it very well in my hurry, I just heard, “Congratulations, well played,” and it sounded like she was trying to make me feel better about being eliminated. She probably realized that I didn't understand correctly, so she repeated herself in English. I thanked her with delight and made my way quickly to Sarah Willis. We hugged each other and she confirmed, “You got the job!”
Amazing! This just proves what talent you have. You won the solo horn position at the Berlin Phil on your second audition! I can believe that auditioning for this orchestra would be fierce.
Actually, I asked some new members of this orchestra for some tips. They all gave me the same answer: be yourself. It was a bit hard to understand before the audition; however, it's my favorite attitude now because it works really well! More importantly, since applying for this audition, so many people have been so supportive of me. I appreciate them all very much. It was actually a tough week prior to the audition. I played several other programs in that short time…some Wagner tuba, and Mahler 1 twice. But surprisingly, that got my lips into strong and flexible condition.
A couple of months before the audition, when everyone became aware that the orchestra had announced the audition date, I also considered it since I was already in Berlin and had been learning the German sound over the past year with the help of my colleagues in the Staatskapelle Berlin. I was hesitant to apply because the position is so legendary. Besides, my colleagues at Staatskapelle love me, and I love them too. Last July, I met Stefan and Sarah at IHS 55 in Montréal. It was a great privilege to play Schumann's Konzertstück with them and Louis-Phillippe Marsolais. After that concert, we were in a car heading back to our hotel. Sarah and Stefan asked me to play a gig. Of course I said yes, “But when?” I asked. “It's on November 2, and just the one day.” “Ok what do we play?” “Not we, you. But just some of the Mozart 4th concerto, Strauss, and some excerpts.” “Ok…but it sounds like an audition!” “It is!”
In September, I made my first (and only) appearance as guest principal in Berlin. We played the Shostakovich 4th Symphony and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 under the baton of Tugan Sokhiev. I also ran into Alexandre Kantorow that week—he and I won the Tchaikovsky Competition in the same year. I remember being quite nervous before the first rehearsal started. I did a long warmup, which I don’t usually do. But somehow, I got the feeling that I’d play as best as I could with musicians who are among the best in the world. In the first movement of the symphony, I had a solo, which comes after the bassoon plays the same line. When I heard this simple, minimalistic solo interpreted so lyrically by Stefan Schweigert, I felt empowered to play it in the same magical way.
Inspiring! How is Berlin to work and live in?
I couldn't say that I liked this city at first, but the more I experience it, the more I realize how lovely Berlin is. It's an international city, which cured my homesickness quickly because so much Asian food is available here. And I made a lot of friends from all over the world. Most important, Berlin took my understanding of classical music to the highest level. My father is also a horn player. He would always emphasize how beautiful the horn is—so that I would willingly learn it from him later. When I was very young, he bought me my first DVD. It was a concert by Berlin from 1998, under the baton of Daniel Barenboim, performed in the State Opera Berlin. At that concert, Stefan Dohr, Dale Clevenger, Ignacio Garcia, and Georg Schreckenberger played Konzertstück by Schumann. But how unbelievable is it for me: I came here only 2 years ago, but I've confirmed all my initial impressions which for so long had only been thoughts. Berlin—and Germany—are probably my lucky charm.
I know that concert! I discovered it on YouTube when I was a teenager. The sound of Stefan Dohr really blew me away. The first part of the Konzertstück is ridiculously high and heavy but it sounded so easy and impressive. Tell me a bit about your past. How did you start your journey on the horn?
Actually, my story happened very simply because I have a horn player father. It should have been my last year at kindergarten, but my parents withdrew me because I was frequently sick. Naturally, when my father was practicing at home, it always got my attention. One day, I asked him if I could play his horn. He gave me a mouthpiece, told me how to blow in it the proper way, and I got a correct sound right away. In January 2006, when I was 6, I started my own relationship with this difficult instrument. After about 4 years, I started getting bored. Just practicing at home or playing duets with my father didn’t make me more curious about the horn. I started cheating while practicing: I tried playing some CDs by Hermann Baumann and Barry Tuckwell loudly, and told my parents that it was me who played that sound, but I wasn’t working. I tried to break my horn, then my parents paid for repair and grounded me. One day, an orchestra in my town called my father. They needed a second horn player for the week when my father would play principal. After persuading the office for a long time, he took me. It was a shocking moment when I heard for first time how 60 instruments sounded around me, and I thought immediately that I have to become a horn player, especially in an orchestra. I even got through the 4th movement of Dvorak 9. It was so enjoyable!
How was it to grow up and study music in China?
China is very different from Europe. Almost every school or college has a student dormitory. I went to a music school in Beijing when I was 11 without my parents. That school is called a Middle School, and it’s attached to the Central Conservatory of Music, which has many famous alumni such as Lang Lang and Yuja Wang. It was quite an elite early education. It seems like every young kid there is chosen to be prepared for a professional music career. Besides some regular middle school courses (math, Chinese, English, etc.), we had solfège, music theory, choir, chamber music…basically, we even “slept” music. There, I met my professor, Prof. Quan Wen. He's a marvelous teacher and a person who always gives 100% focus to his students. With his help, I also got involved in some special projects at school (and later at the conservatory as well) which continually supported me with a good budget to take part in competitions and masterclasses abroad, from 2012 until the ARD competition in 2021.
That sounds familiar! In Latvia there are also special music high schools, where you have a mix of normal and music subjects. That really prepares you well for the conservatory. You have also studied in Geneva with Bruno Schneider. How was it being in Switzerland?
Although I was only in Geneva for six months, it was really a marvelous time! It was an exchange program which, in Europe, they call Erasmus. I enjoyed studying with Prof. Schneider. He is a great teacher for all kinds of horn players because he himself is a great soloist, chamber player, and orchestral musician. He expanded my repertoire and especially rebuilt my way of playing Mozart, which is a very important part of horn auditions. And he was the first one who told me that I should audition for Berlin when the time came. I didn't have any idea what he was talking about, though! I appreciate him so much now for all the motivation and inspiration. It was also my first time truly living abroad. Luckily, Geneva is a beautiful city. Living costs were too expensive for a student, but it was worth it! I didn't manage to learn much French though. It was too difficult for me; but the comparison makes English more user-friendly and worth knowing. I'm still miss cheese fondue, especially that which Prof. Schneider prepared!
That is such a Swiss thing to say! Thank you for the amazing interview. Enjoy your new job!
