by Layne Anspach

Hello chamber musicians!

George Onslow’s Sextet in E-Flat Major, Op. 30, is the focus of this month’s Chamber Music Corner. Onslow was born to an English father and French mother in 1784. After early piano and cello studies, Onslow began composition studies with Anton Reicha in 1808, which inspired him to write chamber music. While Onslow gained great popularity in Germany and Austria, he was less well-known in his homeland of France. His wealth allowed him to compose as he wished, however, mostly ignoring the French public’s taste for opera. The 1830s and 40s saw the confirmation of his career with appointments to a number of institutions, an honorary membership in the London Philharmonic Society, for example, and election to the presidency of Athénée Musical. The decline of his health forced Onslow to give up composing in 1852; he passed away in 1853 in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

The Sextet Op. 30, scored for flute, clarinet, bassoon, horn, double bass, and piano, was written in 1825 and published a year later. Upon hearing bassist Domenico Dragonetti perform in London, Onslow started to incorporate bass into his chamber works. This may explain why the bass is included, but it is unclear whether Dragonetti inspired Onslow for this specific work.

The first of four movements, Introduzione. Largo - Allegro vivace assai, starts with a slow introduction carried mostly by the piano. The piano continues with running sixteenths in the exposition in the faster tempo. The winds play quick virtuosic runs to answer the pianist’s technical display. Interjecting on occasion, the piano cedes melodic content to the flute, clarinet, and bassoon during the development yet returns to the leadership role in the recapitulation.

The A section of Menuetto. Allegro is characterized by an octave leap motif initiated by the horn with chromatic runs in the piano. The B section, Piu lento, is of a playful character in the winds with an anacrusic eight-note motif. The horn leads the return to the A section with a startling entrance, and the movement ends with a delicate chordal conclusion.

The third movement is a theme and variations. Andante con variazioni starts with a piano melody, passing back and forth every four measures. Each variation is worth a listen as Onslow cultivates the melody: Var. I. Piu Presto, Var. II. Stesso moto, Var. III., Var. IV. Tempo I, Var. V. Piu Presto. (I especially enjoy Variation IV in which a flowing horn melody begins the variation.) The final movement, Finale. Allegro, disperses melodic content equally between winds and piano. It is light and upbeat in nature but does not develop in character as the previous movements have. The work comes to a delightful three-chord conclusion.

The reference recording is from Ensemble Initium’s album George Onslow—La musique de chambre avec vents (the complete chamber music for wind instruments) with hornist Stéphane Bridoux performing.

The Historic Brass Society will be hosting an in-person Symposium July 10-14, 2024 in New York City, on "Innovations in Brass: Design, Manufacturing, Performance, Repertoire, Teaching." We are currently accepting proposals for presentations of up to 20 minutes, including papers, lecture-recitals, musical performances, and instrument demonstrations relating to these broad topics:

• brass instrument design and development
• manufacturing and publishing
• repertoire, composers, and performers
• historical performance practices
• pedagogy and pedagogues

Proposals should include an abstract of 250 words, a 75-word biography, and email contact information. Performance proposals should include any specific instrument requirements (piano/organ/harpsichord, etc.). Shorter presentations are also welcome; please provide expected timing.

All proposals should be submitted by email to scoffin@historicbrass.org no later than November 15, 2023.

See our website for more detailed information: www.historicbrass.org

by Eldon Matlick

I have had the opportunity to develop close relationships with several Viennese hornists during my visits over a 9-year tenure performing with the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria. My first contact was Florian Janezic, hornist with the Haydn Brass. This wonderful ensemble performs weekly at the Esterhazy Palace. The superb musicianship of this ensemble was a pleasure to behold. I went backstage and introduced myself and to my amazement, all spoke fluent English. I learned that Florian was an outstanding teacher, having many successful students accepted into various music programs in Vienna. In addition, he is a talented composer and has written several horn ensemble pieces for the Wiener Waldhorn Verein.

Andreas Hofer, by Florian Janezic

During my final year with the Classical Music Festival, I was offered the opportunity to sit in on a rehearsal with the Wiener Waldhorn Verein. It was an experience I will always treasure. For me, it was a bucket list event. The opportunity to sit in an ensemble with 14 Wiener horn players was a magnificent aural experience. The way their sounds blended in an indescribable overtone resonance was startling. I knew then and there that I had to get my own Vienna Horn.

Through the years, I have had the opportunity to travel to Austria on my own and visit various hornists, and I traveled to the village of Freischling to meet with horn maker Andreas Jungwirth. I went back in 2018 and bought one of his Vienna Horns. 

L to R: Eldon Matlick, Andreas Jungwirth, Professor Albert Heitzinger

The following year, I was invited to come to Vienna with my college horn ensemble (OU Hornsemble) to share a concert with the Wiener Waldhorn Verein.

Wiener Waldhorn Verein

The event was a celebration of the 135^th Anniversary of the WWV with a concert in the town of Ohlsdorf. Surprisingly, the hall was packed, every chair filled. The look on my student’s faces when they heard the WWV in the sound check was one of awe. They couldn’t believe the tonal richness of the ensemble and the perfect intonation allowing overtone resonance to create an even bigger tone. Since then, I now understand that Austrian horn players never think in terms of volume. Instead, there is more tone or less tone.

My students had the opportunity to have masterclasses with Gerhard Kuhmer (former solo hornist, Vienna Volksoper) and Peter Dorfmayr (Principal hornist, Wiener Symphoniker). They also heard the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in rehearsal and met with the horn section afterwards. It was there where I was first introduced to Thomas Jöbstl who is currently one of the rotating Principal hornists of the VPO.

Since retiring from the university, I have acquired a Yamaha Vienna Horn. This instrument and the Jungwirth are the most common Vienna horns I have seen. From my experience, it seems that in the VPO, 55% use Yamaha, 40% use Jungwirth, and 5% use an instrument from another manufacturer. In Vienna, the Wiener horn is exclusively used in the Vienna State Opera, Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna Volksopera, and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. The decision between horn manufacturers is based on aesthetic factors. Both Yamaha and Jungwirth are fine instruments, but the Yamaha is much heavier than the Jungwirth. I like having both because on aggressive music, the Yamaha seems a bit more stable, but the Jungwirth offers the tone and suaveness that speaks to me.

A few years ago, I found a paper on the history of the Vienna Horn written by Thomas Jöbstl when I was searching for material on the Vienna Horn. It was interesting but wasn’t current, since it had been written in 2001. This past winter, I found Mr. Jöbstl’s original paper. I found out it was a Thesis written for the Department of Acoustics—Vienna Sound Style IWK of the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. This original paper was much longer and had more data on acoustical matters of various performers playing a variety of instruments of different manufacturers. Included in the last section are interviews with the test subjects and evaluations of the tonal resonance of the players and various instruments, along with natural overtone comparisons of the various makes of Vienna Horns.

It seemed to me that the paper should be available for English speaking hornists as the acoustical part of the study was utterly fascinating. I decided that this would be a worthwhile retirement project. Thus, using translation software from Google Translate and DeepL Translate, I worked my way painstakingly through the entire treatise. When I finished, I sent a copy to the author. Not long thereafter, I was contacted by Dr. Gregor Widholm of the Department of Musical Acoustics (Wiener Klangstil) of the IWK. He was a bit apprehensive about what I was doing, but he offered me assistance in the clarification of misleading information as well as outright wrong information. We went back and forth for months. In between these exchanges, I decided to update information on current manufacturers of Vienna Horns and the mouthpipe crook. I also added some information about Viennese instruments and mouthpieces available since 2001.

Truthfully, Dr. Widholm was skeptical of my additions and wanted to be very clear in the paper what was my contribution as opposed to Mr. Jöbstl’s original work. We came up with the solution that the bulk of my contribution would be at the conclusion of the portion dealing with the history of the Vienna Horn. All my contributions are defined by italics and brackets. When I sent Dr. Widholm my final draft, he was very pleased. He and the author agreed this should be the only authorized English translation of Mr. Jöbstl’s paper. The title is The Influence of the Musician and Instrument on the Viennese Sound of the Horn.

I have supplied a copy of this paper to the IHS Thesis Lending Library. In addition, I submitted a copy of Dr. Widholm’s updated article “The Vienna Horn: Its Acoustics and Playing Technique (Extended Version 2022)” written for the Historical Brass Society. This paper includes sound file examples from Wiener horn players and regular double horn players. This is another fascinating article, and it would be an interesting project for someone to do a similar study with double horns.

Dr. Eldon Matlick is the retired Principal Hornist of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra and retired Professor of Horn at the University of Oklahoma. In addition, he is the founder of the American Vienna Horn Society. His experiences visiting Vienna and with the Wiener Waldhorn Verein have led him to being an active advocate of the Vienna Horn.

by Caiti Beth McKinney

Hi Horn Friends!

This September, I want to introduce a composer who has written over 2000 compositions, from chamber and solo music to film scores and, most of all, jazz. David Nathaniel Baker, a Pulitzer prize-nominated, Emmy award-winning musician, was among the first to write jazz method books. (Jazz had previously been taught primarily through aural instruction.) The definition of grit and determination, he dealt with a series of difficult life circumstances that could have ended his career. Instead, he triumphed over discrimination and tragedy to become a musical paragon.

Born in Indianapolis in 1931, Baker was raised during the years of segregation and so was required to attend schools designated for African American students. It was while attending Crispus Attucks High School that he began performing on trombone, and he quickly became a regular in the Indianapolis jazz scene during the 1940s and 50s. He then attended Indiana University where he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education. In 1953, Baker was involved in a car accident which injured his jaw and derailed his thriving trombone career.

After completing his education, Baker began teaching at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. During his tenure at the historically Black college, he taught composition to a number of rising composers, including John Elwood Price. However, after his marriage to white opera singer Eugenia Marie Jones, Baker was forced to resign his position due to the state’s anti-miscegenation laws which were not repealed until 1969.

Eventually, Baker returned to academia when he became a professor at Indiana University where he founded the jazz studies program. In 1991, he began working with Gunther Schuller (a name we as horn players should all know) to run the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra.

Although his main focus was jazz, Baker composed many works for orchestral instruments, at one point completing a commission for the International Horn Society. His works which utilize horn include Piece for Brass Quintet and Solo Orchestra (1988) and three woodwind quintets composed in 1971, including one entitled From “The Black Frontier.” While none of these works has been recorded—I’m issuing another challenge here—please enjoy this video of him with a jazz group in 1976.