Chamber Music Corner—Howard Buss’ Island of Enchantment: “Five Vignettes from Puerto Rico” (2022)
by Layne Anspach
Hello musicians! This month we will look at Howard Buss’ Island of Enchantment: “Five Vignettes from Puerto Rico” for flute, clarinet, horn, bassoon, and piano. Howard Buss (b. 1951) is an American composer whose work includes instrumental solos, chamber music, symphonic, choral, and band pieces. His works have been performed around the world.
Island of Enchantment was written for clarinetist Kathleen Jones and the 40th Anniversary of Camerata Caribe, and it was premiered on February 5, 2023, in San Juan. The work is in five movements descriptive of Puerto Rico. Sunrise Paints the Land starts with clarinet, flute, and piano presenting melodic content. A trill is passed between players during the opening section, after which the bassoon assumes the melodic lead followed by the clarinet with support from others. The movement is active until the final few bars where the ensemble moves together to conclude.
To the Shore ‘Arecibo’ brings the listener to the town of Arecibo, known for its scenic coastline. The movement opens with ascending patterns from the ensemble followed by the presentation of a short melodic element by bassoon which returns throughout. The A section alternates between busy, thickly scored sections and calm, tranquil ones. The faster B section shares themes between voices: piano, followed by flute, then bassoon. A shortened A section returns to close the movement. Glowing Waters ‘La Parguera’ refers to the bioluminescent waters found at La Parguera which attract tourists to view the nighttime glow. The slow movement is mysterious in nature, marked by dissonant and compact chords in the piano. After the introduction, the clarinet and flute propel the movement forward with short comments from the bassoon. The second section is in compound meter, and bassoon and piano share the melodic responsibility.
The Rain Forest ‘El Yunque’ brings the listener to El Yunque National Forest. The movement opens with four chords presented by the winds followed by an obbligato in the piano. Melodic entrances alternate between winds with staccato interjections. Eventually, the piano passes the obbligato to the flute and clarinet. The opening chords return as a transition to the second section which features cascading entrances of eighth notes between woodwinds and piano. The obbligato returns in the piano for a truncated A section to end the movement. Mongoosian Intrigues is the final movement of the work; while not native to Puerto Rico, mongooses were brought to the island to control rat populations. The movement starts with a tranquil opening but quickly turns to an aggressive and chaotic A section. A wind interlude sets up the B section, which is characterized by foreboding eighth notes in the piano’s left hand while the bassoon carries the melodic material. With little warning, the chaotic A section returns for an exciting conclusion.
Horn on Record—Volume 21: Hunting Songs for Male Chorus with the Horns of the Vienna State Opera
by Ian Zook
The rich tradition of choral singing had a pivotal touchstone in 1808 when composer and conductor Carl Friedrich Zelter formed the Singakadamie in Berlin. This group was limited to twenty-five singers who performed four-part songs and sought out new choral repertoire. Soon thereafter, Romantic era composers, including Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms, all composed interesting and evocative choral music that included horns. This month, we will listen to Forest and Hunting Songs of the Romantic Era, performed by the men’s chorus and the horns of the Vienna State Opera, released by The Musical Heritage Society in 1960.
The horn performers on this recording include Roland Berger, solo horn of the Vienna State Opera (coincidentally, this recording dates from his first year in that position at age 23), Friedrich Gabler, solo horn of the Vienna Volksopera and professor at the State Academy, and Roland Barr, Günter Högner, and Hans Fischer who played first, third, and fourth horns respectively in the State Opera. It is worth noting that the traditional membership of the Vienna Philharmonic is based primarily on performance with the State Opera. After successfully auditioning into the Opera and a three-year probationary period, members are then eligible to perform with the Vienna Philharmonic. Berger, Gabler, and Fischer were also students of Gottfried von Freiberg, the former solo horn of the Vienna Philharmonic.
Although this album has many selections which include horns, we will focus on two marvelous choral works, one each by Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann, which deserve our interest as performers.
Franz Schubert’s Nachtgesang im Walde (Nightsong in the Forest), D. 913 for four horns and men’s chorus, was premiered on April 22, 1827 for a benefit concert for famed hornist Josef Rudolf Lewy whose brother, Eduard, also performed. The following year on March 26, 1828, Schubert held a concert commemorating the first anniversary of Beethoven’s death. Once again, the Lewy brothers performed Nachtgesang im Walde, and Josef also premiered Auf dem Strom, D. 943 for tenor, horn, and piano, composed in honor of Beethoven.
Using text by German poet Johann Gabriel Siedle, Nachtgesang im Walde conjures an evocative soundscape of a woodland night that becomes alive with the encroaching dawn. The opening uses the horns’ sound both to reinforce the chorus and provide a gentle echoing effect, set to text descriptive of clandestine forest meetings, echoing steps, and silvery moon beams:
The mood shifts as the poem turns to the waking of dawn with the rousing sound of horns. A gallop ensues with descriptions of birds, deer, and swaying treetops punctuated by the choir’s articulation and the driving rhythm in the horns:
Robert Schumann is also well-known to hornists for his Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70 and the Konzertstück, Op. 86, both composed in his very productive compositional year of 1849. Less well-known are his Jagdlieder, Op. 137, a set of five songs for men’s chorus and horn quartet from May of the same year. The score calls for three Waldhörner with the 4th part designated for Ventilhorn. Schumann was pioneering in his use of valved horn, but likely chose the designation and assigned keys of F, E, and D for a more rustic horn sound fitting the text of these hunting songs. It also would have been necessary for the Waldhorn players to use ample hand technique as Schumann’s chromaticism frequently uses pitches outside the harmonic series.
Schumann chose to adapt poems from Heinrich Laube’s Jagdbrevier (Hunting Anthology), a collection of poems celebrating the permission for the German middle class to hunt, a luxury permitted previously only to the nobility.
The first song, Zur hohen Jagd (On the High Hunt), begins with a rousing hunting melody for the horns, who in turn provide rhythmic and tonal support for the chorus. The text is descriptive of the joys of hunting, and the gifts of the forest, as well as the sun, rain, and wind. The rollicking compound meter and thick articulation of the Vienna horn adds terrific heft to the voices:
The fourth song, Frühe (Early), is contrasting, marked Langsam and moving to the key of D minor. The horn parts are more intertwined and less homophonic, just as the voice parts have increased independent motion. Schumann bends the harmonies to create palpable tension, allowing the horns to sound a brief concluding chorale accentuated by a soaring high C#:
The final song in the set, Bei der Flasche (With the Bottle), is a celebration of the German hunting tradition, ending with the text, “For the hunt is in our blood!” The horns again provide support for the voices, breaking only to punctuate the piece with a final flourish:
The horns of the Vienna State Opera play with a lyrical and legato quality throughout, allowing their sound to surge forward with burnished excitement, and exuding all the best characteristics of our historic hunting horn.
Thank you, as always, for reading Horn on Record!
Student Column—New Year’s Resolutions from Quotes
by Inman Hebert
Greetings to all horn players, and happy 2025! As I pondered my New Year’s resolutions, making a horn-specific list struck me. Looking back at famous quotations that inspire me, I came up with a few key ideas that should make any horn student’s New Year’s list.
First and foremost, as horn students, we resolve to practice and commit to our instruments. Through the whirlwind of college and personal life, we can never lose sight of our desires to improve. We must commit to consistent, dedicated work on the instrument to achieve our goals. As the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, said, “Your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing.”
The ability to block out the distractions of everyday life and concentrate on the instrument underlies our resolve to succeed. American author Kurt Vonnegut once claimed, “The secret to success in any human endeavor is total concentration.” When we play the horn, we must be reminded to block out the outside world and give the instrument the full mental attention it necessitates.
In our ongoing quests to improve on the horn, moments of doubt, or even failure, will undoubtedly occur. Instead of being discouraged, we can ameliorate these occasions and use them as learning experiences. As the Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu avowed, “Failure is the foundation of success, and the means by which it is achieved.” Our response to adversity can propel us to the improvement we seek.
The manner in which we approach and maintain our goals in 2025 can determine the success and productivity of the year. I encourage all students to consider their commitment to practice, their focus, and their approach to failure to help them navigate the new year.
Pedagogy—Expanding Your Horn Vocabulary
by Aliyah Danielle, IHS 57 Featured Artist
Can you imagine stopping your vocabulary growth after learning just the basics of a language? This is essentially what happens when we focus too narrowly on one style of performance. As horn players, much of our work revolves around the classical tradition, mastering works from the orchestral and solo repertoire. But today’s music industry demands more. Expanding your “horn vocabulary” means developing the stylistic and technical tools required to play any type of music authentically and with confidence. In a diverse and ever-evolving musical landscape, versatility isn’t just an asset—it’s a necessity.
Expanding your horn vocabulary opens doors to new performance opportunities and creative collaborations. It allows you to connect with a wider audience and express yourself in ways that might otherwise be limited in a classical setting. For a long time, I felt like there was a wall between the horn etudes, excerpts, solos, and ensemble music I was studying at school and the soul, gospel, funk, and R&B music that I listened to otherwise. Exploring genres outside of the classical tradition on horn has amplified my artistry in a way I never thought possible, and it has been so meaningful to see the way that my small action of stepping away from the beaten path has inspired others to do the same. This column is a crash course in what I’ll cover in my workshop at this summer’s International Horn Symposium, where we’ll dive even deeper into how you can incorporate these ideas into your own teaching and practice.
Foundations
When I was in middle school, I attended a week-long summer band camp program at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. In addition to private lessons, we also had chamber and large ensemble sessions, music theory, rhythm, and harmony lessons. One of my teachers there, the late percussionist Cecilio Negrón, Jr., used to always repeat the phrase: “If you can say it, you can play it.” The bottom line in achieving a solid foundation is to develop your ear. Active listening and mimicking the greats is a practical first step to developing a solid foundation, and a good handle on aural skills will make this process feel more like play and less like a chore.
Start by immersing yourself in the music you want to learn. Whether it’s pop, folk, lo-fi, or rock, create playlists, study recordings, and transcribe solos to internalize the nuances. Be sure to sing these in addition to playing them on the horn! It is also important to consider variations in tone and articulation. Different genres call for different approaches, and experimenting with tone colors and phrasing can help you adapt and become comfortable with performing what may be deemed in the classical world as “uncharacteristic sounds.” Finally, embrace improvisation. Start small, like improvising with a major scale over a drone. You can slowly expand to different scales, patterns, and chord progressions as you find a comfort zone in realizing your own ideas and breaking free from the page.
Practical Tools and Resources
There are several practical tools and resources that make this exploration more approachable. There are many method books and play-along tracks that are tailored to specific styles, and you can find many of these online for free or at a very low cost. Some resources I’ve found helpful are Blues, Bossa, Bebop, and Beyond by Steve Schaughency and Darmon Meader, 12 Jazzy Etudes for Horn by Ricardo Matosinhos, The Modern Hornist by Giovanni Hoffer, From Classical to Jazz by Joshua Pantoja, and Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns by Nicolas Slonimsky.
You can also set up a jam or practice session with people who play other instruments or specialize in other genres. In grad school, I had the privilege of taking private lessons from a saxophonist, and it is by far the most impactful experience I’ve had in developing my musicianship. Working with people proficient in other genres gives you insight into stylistic authenticity that you can’t always get from reading sheet music alone. A good place to start branching out is by listening to musical theater, film and video game or pop music, as these genres typically bridge classical and contemporary techniques. Some of my favorite composers are Quincy Jones, Natalie Holt, Terence Blanchard, Ludwig Göransson, Stephen Schwartz, Ennio Morricone, and Alan Silvestri.
An Educator’s Perspective
I’ve heard from many colleagues that they have students who would be interested in playing music outside of the classical realm, but they don’t know how to help. Integrating diverse genres into your pedagogy can prepare students for a broader range of musical experiences. Even something as simple as expanding which scales and harmonic settings your students study is a great start. Play improvisation games in your studio classes and lessons. Analyze the stylistic and theoretical elements of a piece in a different genre. Try learning new songs by ear. Being vulnerable to try new things and model flexibility yourself will give your students permission to approach new ideas with curiosity and enthusiasm. Remember that the goal is not perfection—it is to explore and discover new ways of expressing a full range of musical ideas through our instruments.
Exploring beyond the classical realm challenges us to grow as musicians and opens the door to limitless creative possibilities. I encourage you to start small—choose one new genre to explore this month and see where it takes you. We will dive even deeper into this topic at the Symposium in June, and I hope to see you there!
Themed University Horn Class Recitals
by Richard Seraphinoff, Indiana University
For the past several years, I have been organizing my horn class recitals at the IU Jacobs School of Music according to a theme or featuring a specific composer, and I wanted to share this concept with teachers everywhere simply because of the fun we have had doing it. Choosing a single composer or theme has made our class recitals into more of a project rather than a potpourri of unrelated pieces with no underlying relationships. “The Franz Strauss Project” has a nice ring to it, and the preparation for a collaborative endeavor makes everyone feel like they are equal participants in the event.
When I started looking, I was surprised how many composers had written enough music for horn that a dozen or more students could have their own individual piece or movement. So far, with a class of about a dozen horn majors, we have done concerts featuring Mozart (there are 11 concerto movements, the concert rondo, and the unfinished fragments…and to make it even more fun, we have also done them with four-horn accompaniment), Gliere (three concerto movements, four short pieces plus four more transcribed from op. 35), Alec Wilder, Franz Strauss, Antonio Rosetti, Jan Koetsier, the Otto Nicolai duets, Bernard Heiden, and Randall Faust. For this last one, Prof. Faust came as our special guest.
On November 20th this fall, our class project was the music of James Naigus with James present as our special guest. James played piano for his music, and everyone was excited about getting to perform their piece with the composer.
Aside from specific composers, we have done other themes, like pairing up horn students with IU composition students to commission a piece for each student, or performing pieces by past IU composers, or preparing a concert in which students searched out underrepresented composers for a diverse concert of works by composers who deserve more attention. A particularly enjoyable concert was one in which each student did their own transcription of a piece written for voice or for another instrument.
These recitals also give students the opportunity to say something about the piece, the composer, and any other relevant information that would be of interest to the audience. This is great practice for doing research, for collecting their thoughts to talk for a minute or so before they play, and to actually speak. It is also a good dry run for generating program notes or talking to the audience before degree recitals—in which we would like for students to connect with their audiences in addition to providing background on the compositions.
So far, we have not run out of prolific composers of horn music or themes on which to base a concert. The list of future projects is long enough to go for several years without repeating anything.
Try this idea for your next class recital. It will transform it into a memorable, even newsworthy, event.
Rick Seraphinoff, Professor of Music, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, https://www.seraphinoff.com
Chamber Music Corner—Anton Rubinstein’s Quintet in F Major for Piano and Winds, Op. 55 (1855)
by Layne Anspach
Hello musicians!
Continuing with piano and wind repertoire, we will focus this month on Anton Rubinstein’s Quintet in F Major, Op. 55. Rubinstein was a Russian pianist, composer, conductor, and teacher. He was an exceptional pianist, and his recitals were big events. In 1862, he founded the St. Petersburg Conservatory. As a composer, Rubinstein wrote for a wide variety of genres: opera, symphony, concerti, songs, and chamber works.
The Quintet in F Major was written in 1855 while Rubinstein was on a solo tour. He also composed a piano quartet version, Op. 55a. The first movement, Allegro non troppo, starts with a call and response between winds and piano. The clarinet takes on the first melody with piano accompaniment. The horn and piano pass the second theme between each other before the rest of the winds join. The development is fragmented between winds and piano, although the piano part is present throughout, driving the section forward. The recap is accentuated with piano figurations, added to the return of the chordal winds. The movement ends with a flurry from the piano with chordal support from the winds.
The first theme of the second movement, Scherzo: Allegro assai, is carried melodically by the piano. After the winds present the second theme, the piano waits to adopt it until the end of the scherzo section. The trio features bassoon and horn melodically with piano accompaniment. The scherzo returns unedited.
The horn, with piano support, is heard with a lyrical solo beginning the Andante con moto. The melody is passed from horn to the other winds as the movement continues. As expected, the piano takes a more prominent role as the movement progresses. Building up to a piano cadenza, the rhythmic pulse fluctuates through a forward push of the tempo. The opening theme is reprised by the piano leading to the soft conclusion.
In the final movement, Allegro appassionato, the piano begins alone, but shortly the clarinet joins with melodic content and remains the focus, only relinquishing to the horn for a short time. The second theme is characterized by a staccato style and dotted rhythms. The development is introduced by the piano with soft repeated chords which continue with fragmented wind commentary. The recap is worth a special listen, although it sounds as if it arrives too early! The key areas are still modulating with the first theme appearing in A-flat major, rather than the expected F major. F major is not restored until the second theme of the recap, which continues to build to a dramatic climax but is interrupted by the soft chords from the development. A final Presto brings the work to a typical rousing conclusion.
The reference recording is from Consortium Classicum’s album Anton Rubinstein: Octet, Op. 9 and Quintet, Op. 55 (Orfeo). The hornist on the album is Jan Schroeder.
“Basta, basta!” . . . Fiddling with Mozart
“Basta, basta!” . . . Fiddling with Mozart
by Alec Frank-Gemmell
A former teacher of mine said of their recording of the Mozart horn concertos, “I’m not really sure why I bothered.” Said recording is excellent, so they were probably just being excessively modest. Nevertheless, every new version of these pieces does beg the question, why do we need another one? I was lucky enough to be offered a contract with the record label BIS ten years ago on the understanding that I would definitely record Mozart’s horn concertos, among other things. It has taken me this long to get around to it. My experiences making discs on period instruments, of transcriptions and even of fairly obscure repertoire, have all informed my decision-making with this recording.
There are brilliant interpretations of “The Mozarts” on old and on modern horn. The recordings by Dennis Brain with Karajan and the Philharmonia remain, at least on the scene in which I grew up, the ultimate versions with valves. This is perhaps partly due to the history of these recordings and that player: they did more than anything else to establish the horn as a solo instrument, at least since Giovanni Punto and Josef Leutgeb were around. It was not my intention to give a nod to those recordings, but it just so happened that the instrument that suited me best was a gold brass Alexander model 90, the same type of horn that Brain used on that LP. (I actually recorded the Brahms trio on Aubrey Brain’s piston horn, but the engineering on that disc means you can’t hear much difference, alas…or do I mean “I’m not really sure why I bothered!”).
Among my favorite recent releases of the Mozart concertos are those played on natural horn. There is so much in these concertos that makes sense when you hear the different shadings necessitated by hand-stopping rather than valving. It was my plan to record on a “nat,” but having made a disc of baroque concertos called Before Mozart with Nicholas McGegan and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, it was too tempting to get the band back together for this disc. Nic is both a hilarious person and also a pioneer in period performance. So, we were never going to ignore historically-informed practice. One of the aspects of natural horn playing I most admire is that the horn seems to relate so much more strongly to its roots as a hunting instrument. The sound of the hunt is ever-present in the Mozart concertos, especially in the finales. Thus, with the odd bit of wildness and some fun hand-stopping thrown in, I’ve tried to compensate a bit for using the valves.
Finally, to this disc’s USP (unique selling point). It is impossible to record “all” of the Mozart horn concertos without making choices about editions and completions, which fragments to include and which to leave out. I always found it interesting that (perhaps thanks to Brain) we think of Mozart’s four horn concertos. No. 1, K. 412, was not only completed by Süssmayer but Mozart never wrote a slow movement for it. Another interesting phenomenon is the numbering, whereby No. 1 is actually the last one Mozart wrote. Modified for an ailing Leutgeb, it is considered “the easiest.” (One rarely gets booked to play a two-movement concerto with orchestra without any flashiness.) For this disc I took a deep breath and with the help of the amazing Stephen Roberts, transcribed the slow movement of Mozart violin concerto K. 211 to make a complete piece. Transposed down an octave, much of the solo line is playable on horn. There is also something reminiscent of a horn concerto slow movement in the lilt of the original. And if the demands on the horn player are greater than could be expected of the elderly Leutgeb in K. 412, at least it now means we earn our fee!
For the puritan, of course, any transcription is wrong-headed. I imagine that my versions of cello and violin works by Brahms for horn were quite unpopular in some quarters! However, I like to think that our version of Mozart’s Concerto No. 1 is certainly fitting. The great master would never have taken bits of a fiddle concerto and bolted them onto an unfinished horn concerto. But equally, he probably wouldn’t have minded us doing so—writing for his friend, this is hardly Mozart in the serious vein of the Requiem (written the same year). And although he did not finish the orchestration of the finale, he did find time to write some amusing abuse above the horn part. As well as calling Leutgeb “Cazzo” (which I won’t translate), he writes at the end “Basta, basta!” or “Enough, enough!” I think that’s my cue.
