by Ian Zook
Volume 5—Jósef Brejza
Our next Horn on Record entry explores a lesser-known concerto for horn by Swiss composer Othmar Schoeck, recorded by the venerable Polish hornist Józef Brejza.
This album, featuring Othmar Schoeck’s Concerto for Horn and Strings, Op. 65, was released in 1969 by Józef Brejza and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, and it is the first recording of this concerto. It has since been recorded by artists including Hermann Baumann, Bruno Schneider, and Marie Luise Neunecker. (For an interesting history on the genesis of Schoeck’s concerto and its dedicatee Willi Aebi, check out this history furnished by Herman Baumann.)
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| Józef Brejza |
Józef Brejza was born in 1936 in Kończyce Małe, near Cieszyn, Poland. After early experiences playing the horn in a military brass band, he joined the Silesian Philharmonic as first horn and studied at the Academy of Music in Katowice with Adam Przybyła. Soon after graduating in 1957, he joined the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra as solo horn, where he performed between 1959-1962.
He was a laureate of many international music competitions, including the Geneva, Moscow, and Prague Spring competitions. Following his success in Geneva, he began playing with the Basel Symphony Orchestra while studying natural horn at the Basel Conservatory. Brejza decided to end his tenure with the orchestras in Poland and relocated permanently to Switzerland. There, he performed for the remainder of his career as a first horn in the Basel Symphony Orchestra. Brejza also premiered many works including Wojciech Kilar’s Sonata for Horn and Piano, Armin Schibler's Prologue, Introduction et Danse, and Musik für Horn und Schlagzeugensemble by Rudolf Kelterborn. He also gave the Polish premiere of Gliere’s Horn Concerto in 1957.
Brejza taught at the Conservatory of Music in Basel from 1965-1996 and then retired from both teaching and performing in 1997.
Now let’s enjoy the music!
The secondary theme in Schoeck’s Concerto is chromatic and searching, a contrast from the pompous and rhythmic spirit of the opening theme. Brejza plays with grand sustain here, pulling through the chromaticism and very subtly tapering the more tonal conclusions:
Later, near the end of the first movement, Brejza’s high range soars with declamatory finality:
The slow movement of the concerto contains sophisticated writing. Here, Brejza’s unflinching dynamics obscure any subtleties in the cantabile phrasing. He also chooses to play con sordino rather than the marked gestopft:
The closing Rondo is charming and effervescent music, harkening to our forested horn calls but with cheeky interjections of chromaticism. Brejza sails through the melody with tidy articulation and an enviable consistency throughout the range:
Schoeck’s Concerto closes with a melancholic melody that suddenly snaps back into the expected jaunty ending. Brejza’s most notable performing characteristics are on display here in his committed melodic sustain, full-throated dynamics, and succinct articulation:
We hope you have enjoyed listening to the Concerto, Op. 65 by Othmar Schoeck and learning more about our horn heritage from Poland. Do you have any feedback or album requests? Visit us at Horn on Record!
