Horn on Record—Wiener Waldhornverein Jahre 100
by Ian Zook
Volume 17 celebrates a recording made for the 100th year of the Wiener Waldhornverein. The “WWV” is the oldest continually operating horn club dedicated to preserving the sound and style of the Vienna Horn. The “Jahre 100” album was recorded in 1983 to commemorate their centennial anniversary, and it includes twenty-seven players performing music spanning the history of their ensemble.
The history of the Wiener Waldhornverein begins in 1879 with Josef Schantl, solo horn of the Imperial and Royal Court Opera in Vienna, who organized a quartet of horns to perform for the parade commemorating the 25th wedding anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph I and his wife Elisabeth. Schantl, inspired by the success of the quartets he had composed for the occasion, founded the “First Viennese Horn Club” in 1883. Very notably among the founding members was Johannes Brahms—a great advocate for the Austrian hunting music promoted by the ensemble.
Throughout the history of the WWV, members of all the professional orchestras in Vienna as well as amateurs joined together to preserve the sound and style of the Vienna horn. They were featured at the 1st International Brass Congress, held in Montreux, Switzerland, in 1976, and have also established a publishing company to promote their vast collection of horn ensemble music.
The Vienna horn, or Wiener Pumpenhorn, has been in constant use by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra since 1870. These horns are three valve single-F horns designed essentially as a 19th Century Inventionshorns with double-piston valves, a design that uses a clock-spring casing that was patented by Leopold Uhlmann in 1830. The Vienna horn uses a terminal crook, and while mostly played in F, they can also be crooked in E, E♭, G, A, and B♭ alto. The distinct sound of these instruments is found in elegant legato and portamento, golden-hued tone, deeper resonance in articulation, and the captivating energy produced in the upper extremes of dynamics and range.
This Wiener Waldhornverein “Jahre 100” recording was produced in 1983 during a horn symposium in the Vienna Konzerthaus under the direction of Siegfried Schwarzl of the Vienna State Opera. The varied selections showcase many of the composers and iconic pieces that define and preserve the Vienna horn traditions.
The Hungarian Fanfare was among the pieces composed and performed by Josef Schantl for the 1883 parade. In this recording, the WWV uses E♭ parforce horns to reflect on the hunting associations of this music:
Karl Stiegler, solo horn of the Vienna Philharmonic from 1906-1932, contributed a large amount of horn ensemble music to the WWV. His piece, O Dirndl tief drunt im Tal, is a wonderfully expressive setting of this traditional Austrian folksong:
A brief Study in Jazz after Irving Berlin, by Dieter Angerer, features Margo Totzauer in a short solo as the WWV interprets this tune from the Great American Songbook:
Helmuth Foschauer’s Mauerbacher Festmusik was written for the 650th anniversary of the Maeurbach Charterhouse, a Baroque monastic complex 20 km outside of Vienna. This grand fanfare resonates with the rich sound and searing high range of the Wiener Waldhornverein:
I hope you have enjoyed learning more about the unique and lasting tradition of the Wiener Waldhornverein. Thank you for reading Horn on Record!
Meet the People—Monica Martinez
by Monica Martinez
Hello! I am Monica Martinez, and I am the new Secretary on the Executive Council of the International Horn Society. I am from Brownsville in the Rio Grande Valley in the far south of Texas. I completed my undergraduate studies at Texas A&M University at Kingsville and my graduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin.
I am currently Assistant Professor at the University of Texas—Rio Grande Valley, and I am an active, passionate educator and freelance musician. I recently did an interview with James Boldin for The Horn Call Podcast, Episode 49. Fun fact: I have my degrees in both Music Education and Horn Performance, which is perfect for me because I’ve had the opportunity to be able to focus on various levels in both fields. I also get opportunities to travel and perform, a balance that I had always wanted and needed in my life. I am always appreciative of every opportunity that comes my way, and I love the chance to network and meet new people and perform in different types of ensembles. I always look forward to attending as many local, regional, national, and international events that I can each year.
I am grateful to the IHS Advisory Council and the Horn community for the ability to continue in this new role. I will continue to provide a service that is aimed at growth, stability, diversity, and inclusivity.
If you would like to know more about me, feel free to search any of the links below:
The Horn Call Podcast, Episode 49: Monica Martinez
https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-mgx8b-1623476
UTRGV Horn Studio Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/utrgvhornstudio
UTRGV School of Music
https://www.utrgv.edu/music/people/faculty
Chromatic Brass Collective
https://www.chromaticbrass.org/monica-martinez
International Horn Society, Advisory Council
https://www.hornsociety.org/ihs-people/a-c
Chamber Music Corner—Adolphe Blanc, Quintet for Piano and Winds, Op. 37
by Layne Anspach
Hello musicians!
For the next few months, Chamber Music Corner will focus on repertoire of the same instrumentation—quintet for piano and winds. Unlike the Classical quintets of Mozart and Beethoven, these quintets exchange oboe for flute. The first such work discussed in CMC was Louis Spohr’s Quintet, Op. 52, in August 2023. This month, we will focus on Adolphe Blanc’s Quintet, Op. 37.
Adolphe Blanc (1828-1885) was a French composer, conductor, and violinist. Starting at age 13, he attended the Paris Conservatory. From 1855-1860, he was employed as conductor for the Theatre-Lyrique. In 1862, Blanc was awarded the Prix Chartier in chamber music. His successful chamber music oeuvre is unique in a time when the French public’s interest was in opera. Blanc’s work helped pave the way for future French chamber music composers.
Blanc wrote his Quintet, Op. 37 in 1859 while he was conductor at the Theatre-Lyrique. Although lost, there is record that he wrote an arrangement of Op. 37 for piano and strings. The first movement, Allegro, in sonata form, starts with the full ensemble together. The first theme is carried either by the tutti ensemble or passing between winds and piano. The second theme shifts instrumentation entirely with clarinet and piano only, only later adding other winds. Following a build-up near the end of the exposition, a dotted eighth-sixteenth rhythm from the first theme returns as transitional material. The development is driven motivically with this rhythm as piano and winds pass fragments of the theme back and forth. The recap begins as expected, but the return of the second theme uses horn (rather than clarinet) as the leading voice. The movement ends with a coda as the piano plays constant sixteenth notes and the winds recall the first theme. The first movement accounts for half of the entire work.
The second movement, Scherzo, is in the typical large da capo form. The first section follows a light downward-leading motif in minor. The Trio moves to the parallel major and features a quaint waltz. Then, without fanfare, the movement returns to the scherzo to conclude. The final movement starts with a slow introduction, Andante maestoso. The subsequent Allegro is a pleasant and entertaining conclusion to the work in which a few sections feature winds without piano. The piano writing is never heavy, providing, overall, a very enjoyable listening experience.
The reference recording is from Les Vents de Montreal’s album Adolphe Blanc: Chamber Music for Clarinet (ATMA Classique). The hornist on the album is Denys Derome.
2024-25 Officers and Advisory Council
The annual general meeting of International Horn Society membership was held on Wednesday, July 31, at IHS 56 in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA. Officers and Advisory Council members for the next year were announced at the meeting and are as follows:
Officers:
President: Peter Luff, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Vice-President: J. Bernardo Silva, Porto, Portugal
Secretary: Monica Martinez, Edinburg, Texas, USA
Treasurer: Jennifer Sholtis, Kingsville, Texas, USA
IHS Advisory Council:
Lisa Bontrager, Emeritus Distinguished Professor, Pennsylvania State University
Emma Brown, Graduate Student, Chicago College of Performing Arts
Randy Gardner, Cincinnati Conservatory, retired
Tommi Hyytinen, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts, Helsinki
Gabriella Ibarra, Latino America Horns, Horn and More
Marilyn Bone Kloss, Assistant Editor of The Horn Call
Ben Lieser, University of Central Florida
Peter Luff, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Monica C. Martinez, University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley
Ken Pope, Pope Instrument Repair
Jeff Scott, Oberlin Conservatory
Jennifer Ratchford Sholtis, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
J. Bernardo Silva, Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
Richard Todd, University of Miami, Los Angeles Studio Musician
Margaret Tung, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Lucca Zambonini, Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de Campinas, Brazil
The Ambitious Amateur—The Summer Hornist
by Marty Schlenker
Dear Fellow Amateurs,
Recently, I wrote that I bought a horn, a one-owner 700,000-series Conn 8D from the mid-1950s. The owner was Jim Tyson, a lifelong music teacher in central Pennsylvania, who taught my wife and her two brothers 40-50 years ago.
I had been motivated to add an Elkhart 8D or similar horn to my roster ever since I borrowed a friend’s excellent Hoyer Kruspe copy years ago. In my circle of community bands, Holton and 8D players are the majority. It would be helpful for timbre matching if I had a large bore nickel horn too. Finally, opportunity and motivation intersected.
Overall, I was pleased. The price was fair. The valves and corpus are in fine shape. The bell needs a little straightening. I was able to achieve the classic 8D mellowness, and there were no bad notes. But the 8D is far less centered than my 28D or, as I recall, my friend’s Hoyer. Lip slurs, especially at first, were frustratingly random, and overall, the 8D seemed to require a lot more effort. To use a baseball analogy, it seemed like swinging a bat with a weight on it. So, I use the 8D when I’m in sections where that timbre prevails.
In early July, I hit the road with the 28D. Every year, the First Coast Wind Symphony of Jacksonville, FL, takes a tour, and partners up with a community band for a joint concert in its chosen destination. Even though I don’t live in Florida and am not a FCWS member, I get invited by my wife’s brother who organizes the tours. This year, FCWS was hosted by the Burlington Concert Band of Burlington, VT which has been in near-continuous operation since 1851. The combined band played July 3 in Burlington’s Battery Park Music Shell, with beautiful weather and one of the best fireworks displays I can remember. Here are a few highlight photos:
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Battery Park, with Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks in the background, and the 28D
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Four family members: brothers-in-law Larry and Alan, my wife Lucy, and me
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The combined section: Benny (Burlington), Ann (First Coast), Noah (Burlington), Bobbie (First Coast), Marcela (Burlington), and me (Have-horn-will-travel)
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As patriotic programs sometimes do, this concert got LOUD, and Marcela is a very strong player. It was all I could do to keep up with her to balance 4th horn to her 3rd. Two days later, I noticed that my whole rib cage ached. But guess what? I don’t mind playing the 8D one bit now. All I needed was a real workout.
Please write with your how-I-stay-in-shape stories, where-my-horn-has-been stories, or anything else from your amateur horn world! marty.schlenker@cavaliers.org.
Your servant and kindred spirit,
Marty Schlenker, Amateur Hornist
Composer Spotlight—Barbara York
by Caiti Beth McKinney
Hi everyone!
In honor of the 56th International Horn Symposium, I wanted to write about a composer I adore—and, coincidentally, whose music I will be performing at IHS 56—Barbara York. While perhaps known more as a proponent of low brass chamber music, her works for horn are both challenging and rewarding.
Born in Canada in 1949, York studied both cello and piano as a child, demonstrating such skill and dedication that she began her bachelor’s degree at McGill University at age 16 and graduated by the age of 20. Barbara spent early periods of her career working in musical theater, elementary music education, and, perhaps most importantly, collaborative piano. Upon accompanying a tuba player, Michael Fischer, at his recital at Pittsburg State University, York was inspired by the dulcet tones of solo tuba playing and requested to write a piece for Fischer; thus began a long and fruitful career of over forty works for tuba or euphonium.
One of my favorites among York’s works is her trio for horn (or euphonium), tuba, and piano entitled Dancing with Myself, which the composer describes as a bit of “Bohemian Barbara,” reminding herself of her youthful days in Montréal. Clearly inspired by dance styles including jazz, tango, and polka, the piece interweaves all three instruments to great effect, creating a conversation between the performers, while also being deeply introspective and personal. Barbara spoke about the piece in an interview, discussing her thoughts on the work and its reflection of a past relationship, stating, “…then I realized that he didn’t want to have a discussion with me. He wanted to instruct me. I was trying to talk to him, but he wasn’t talking back. I was just really talking to myself, which was interesting…. There was no two-way communication going on. He wasn’t having any kind of discussion. When I did the story about going home at night by myself dancing because I wasn’t dancing with myself, I also thought about the fact that when you’re young, you’re so concerned with finding who you are and your own self-image. Figuring out who you are.”
York also composed several brass quintets, a suite for horn, euphonium, and piano, and an outstanding sonata for horn which is well worth a listen. Wishing everyone a fabulous August—and thank you for reading the Horn and More Composer Spotlight!
Student Column—Professor Suggestions for New Horn Majors
by Inman Hebert
As we prepare to begin a new academic year, I surveyed five horn professors about what they wished their students would know coming into college and asked for some general suggestions as students prepare for a major in music.
Dr. Jennifer Ratchford Sholtis, Professor of Horn, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, described the expectations a “fresh-faced freshman” would ideally bring with them to “tackle both the horn and academic worlds.”
“On the horn front, they've got a clear tonal concept, can breeze through major scales, their range hits a solid F2 all the way up to a C6, and their natural horn lip slurs flow like a river.
But it's not just about the music. To succeed at college life, they manage their time well, sticking to set schedules. They are fueled by their own ambition, never backing down from a challenge, and they have high standards when it comes to schoolwork. Plus, they have an insatiable curiosity, always wanting to dive deeper into whatever crosses their paths.
That's the dream combo for a freshman ready to take on both the horn and the college world.”
Bernhard Scully concurs in the need for “time management skills, general musicianship skills—including improvisational and compositional skills, writing skills, and interdisciplinary skills.”
Other professors reflected on exposure to musical concepts. Johanna Lundy, observes that “many high school students don’t have experience reading in bass clef or working with transposition.” She recommends starting “on both early for an easier transition to college.”
Desiring students to be ready with a “good background of major scales beyond the standard patterns” and an understanding of “basic [music] theory knowledge and vocabulary” underpinned the comments from Lanette López Compton. She also believes that “knowledge of repertoire from orchestral to solo, because it’s so accessible, would show genuine curiosity in a student.”
Dr. Martin D. King emphasized the word musicianship. “Basic musicianship is more important to me than specific skills on the horn. Being able to sight-read, play scales and arpeggios, and ensemble skills set students up for success. The specific horn skills and techniques are so much easier to teach if students are strong musicians.”
When asked about their suggestions for students, many thoughts centered around managing time. Johanna Lundy emphasizes this skill:
“Time management is another challenge for students transitioning into college. You think that you will have lots of free time! But it’s really just more unstructured time—if you spend it doing your assignments, you’ll be fine! If not, things will pile up quickly as the semester goes on. Start by creating a regular practice schedule and enter the times into your calendar. It’s easier to get the work done when it is visible in your schedule.”
Bernhard Scully asserts, “Music is a practiced art, and it is important to establish a consistent routine for practice.”
“Students need to embrace [a] ‘pay now, play later’ mindset. That means hitting the books and the practice room before chillin' with your buddies, diving into your favorite video game, or burrowing into your bed for a nap!” Dr. Jennifer Ratchford Sholtis
Some comments centered on the demands of college. “I know a lot of students who were surprised by how challenging music theory and piano proficiency classes could be. Any time you can put into these subjects before college will make things easier for you! For those already in college, don’t be afraid to ask for help if you don’t understand a theory concept. Bonus: taking piano lessons will help you learn about and better understand music theory.” Johanna Lundy
Others articulated the need for students to press beyond the familiar. “Read something that is new every day. Sight-reading should just be every-day reading of music. Always play something you are good at and love to play…but most of each session should be working on something new and not exactly comfortable. Spend time working on parts of playing that need attention, especially if you have the tools to do it.” Lanette López Compton
“A little nugget of wisdom: if something scares you, that's probably the exact thing you need to tackle head-on. It's all about pushing past those comfort zones.” Dr. Jennifer Ratchford Sholtis
The responses also included a helpful reminder to stay focused on our goals. “Plaster your goals all over your room. Make them impossible to ignore when you roll out of bed in the morning. Then, break them into smaller mini-goals that'll keep you on track to achieving those big dreams.” Dr. Jennifer Ratchford Sholtis
While focusing on goals, others prompted students to remember the importance of the journey. “Listen to lots of music, play in every possible different type of ensemble. Also, be patient. Learning to play the horn will take a lot of time. Students should focus more on practicing the right things every day and trust that the results will come in time.” Dr. Martin D. King
“School is a place where one can gain a broad perspective on music and begin to explore in many areas. My suggestion is to practice your horn as much as you are reasonably able to…get your playing fundamentals under control and get as broad an understanding of music as possible, ideally combining with a double major or as much comprehensive schooling and cross-discipline as possible to prepare oneself for the rapidly evolving landscape of the 21st century.” Bernhard Scully
Acknowledgments
Dr. Martin D. King, Assistant Professor of Horn, Washington State University
Lanette López Compton, Professor of Horn, Oklahoma State University
Johanna Lundy, Associate Professor of Horn, The University of Arizona
Dr. Jennifer Ratchford Sholtis, Professor of Horn, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Bernhard David Scully, Horn Soloist, Artistic Director of Cormont Music and the Kendall Betts Horn Camp, Associate Professor at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, former horn of Canadian Brass
