by J. Bernardo Silva, IHS Vice-President
• Can you tell us a little about your musical background?
I came from a family of musicians. From an early age, my parents encouraged me to sing and perform. According to them, I was able to memorize a song after listening to it maybe once or twice, an ability that I have, sadly, lost. One of my earliest musical memories from my childhood was singing patriotic songs in front of a large group of adults, bringing most of them to tears. I must have been a sight to see, shouting my lungs out at the age of 3, about freedom and liberty.
From the first years in school, I received intensive training with violin and piano. Later in life, I picked up classical guitar too and made it a habit to explore other instruments. I didn’t become the greatest violinist Romania has ever had, as my parents wished, but I became quite familiar with a lot of string instruments, which comes in handy as a composer.
• As a violinist, what is your relationship with the horn? How did it start and what is your connection?
I had a romantic affair with the French horn in high school. Some kids would go behind the school to smoke a cigarette while I would be making buzzing sounds with a rusty mouthpiece. I owe everything I am, musically at least, to my parents. However, when they discovered that I wanted to make a switch to the French horn, they were extremely upset. Until this day, I still make fun of them for reacting so dramatically. But since then, I had a special affection for the horn, even though I have never played a single note on an actual horn. The violin (with its family of strings), the piano, and the horn are closest to my heart.
• What type of compositions/arrangements for or with horn can we find in your catalog?
To this day there are about 200 arrangements made for a variety of horn ensembles, from duets to 16 horns. Almost every new composition of mine has a horn part. Everything ranging from classical to folk to jazz to pop music can be found in my catalog, and I aim to infinitely expand it.
• What motivates you to compose for horn? Does anything about the horn particularly captivate you?
I always found the sound and range of the horn closest to a human male voice…and sometimes, the cello would give me the same sense. So, I compose for horn as if for a voice without lyrics. Sure, there are many technicalities that could give any inexperienced composer anxiety, but when writing for the horn, whether a solo part or ensemble part, I tell myself, “If it comes naturally to sing it, the horn player will like it too, even when it is difficult.” This doesn’t come to me as innately with other instruments, but I could be biased. I aim to make each part of any arrangement as enjoyable to play as possible.
• Can you tell us a little about your creative process? How do you select the works for your arrangements? What kind of criteria do you follow?
I like to think that if you do creative arrangements, any piece is fertile for exploration and experiments. Because I was “brainwashed” with classical music my entire life, that is usually where I select new pieces, but I like to explore musical folklore too, and I encourage my fellow horn players to give me pop, rock, jazz, and film music challenges. When I am commissioned for a certain piece, I would like not only to make a transcription but would also add a touch of my composition into it. Some musicians appreciate these small variations or surprises; some would very much prefer the original version.
• What was the basis for the Justforhorns page? Can you tell us a little about what we can find there?
My long-term goal is to create a vast collection of music for horn or including horn. When searching the internet, one can easily find scores for violin and piano. Why not for the horn, too? I would encourage other composers and arrangers to publish their works on Justforhorns, too, because to me, it is most important to have passionate people join me in the quest of making music accessible to everyone.
• What are your projects for the future? new challenges?
To compose and to arrange more music. One of my goals for 2024 is to finish a horn concerto and have it premiered (at least in a horn-and-piano format). It is written and dedicated to my dear friend Ionut Podgoreanu, to whom I owe most of my success and recognition in the horn world.
Another personal goal of mine for 2024 is the launch of a practice app, with carefully selected content for beginners to professionals which includes warmups, etudes, orchestral excerpts, standard concertos, etc. We are very close to launching it, but every good product requires great care, and we do not want to disappoint.
• Any message you want to leave to the horn players?
Be (more) patient with young composers.
