Student Column—Intersections of Musicology and Horn Performance
by Inman Hebert
Students can be guilty of relegating music history to the classroom. In a grade-incentivized academic system, cramming for exams and exiling material not being tested in the near future to the back of our minds becomes very easy. Regardless of outcomes (grades), cramming may cause us to dismiss the relevance of musicological concepts to careers in music. College professors, at this point, would ask students to fully embrace—integrate and apply—their curricula. So why and how do we apply music history to our playing?
We can look to period-instrument specialists and their studies for inspiration. Horn players from around the globe study and perform solos, chamber music, and symphonic music on natural horn. While we can never replicate any musical era with complete accuracy, experts in this practice strive for a high degree of authenticity in both the unique timbres of the original instruments and in their historically-informed styles of performance.
Given the natural horn’s limitations, not every horn player desires to study the instrument. For the longest time, I falsely categorized natural horn playing as completely separate from the modern valved traditions. As such, I dismissed its potential to influence my musical ideas. Learning how the two are inextricably linked, particularly with relation to the performance of repertoire originally written for those instruments, opened up new possibilities. (The Paris Conservatory tradition of the nineteenth century required that students practice both natural and valved horn techniques…but this is information for another article.)
Taking inspiration from the natural horn by performing its repertoire can aid our growth into more mature musicians. Using a Mozart horn concerto as an example, we can examine which notes would have been open, covered, stopped, etc. on the natural horn and gain insights into Mozart’s intentions for phrase structures, color and nuance, and even humor. Moreover, we can look at generalized musical trends in the Classical period, such as beats one and three almost always serving as strong metrical points, to further guide us in phrasing.
Professors share their expertise so that students may have epiphanies to internalize and which, sometimes, revolutionize one’s approach to performing music. Originally, I chased one identity, one sound concept, and one way of performance, but I later realized that a defining trait of musical development is adaptability. The study of each piece relative to its musicological context provides us with the knowledge to better understand the composer and performance practices of an era, and, thereby, to create a more nuanced and relevant performance.
If we decide to break from historical trends, the decision should be a conscious one based on context and steeped in knowledge. As developing musicians, we have an obligation to study the history of our instruments and its repertoire, not for the purposes of replicating the past but rather to allow the past to inform our present.
Krzysztof Penderecki—Capriccio per Radovan
Krzysztof Penderecki—Capriccio per Radovan
by Wojciech Kamionka
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Krzysztof Penderecki
(photo by Jakub Ociepa) |
Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020)—Polish composer and pedagogue, and Rector of the Academy of Music in Kraków from 1972 to 1987—in his various compositions, dedicated a notable number of solos to the horn. As examples, he wrote long solos for horn on-stage and off-stage in Credo (1997-98) in the movement Crucifixus, as well in his Symphony No. 7 “Seven Gates of Jerusalem” (1996), commissioned for the 3000-year anniversary of the city of Jerusalem. This work was premiered in Jerusalem on January 9, 1997. The orchestra included members of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Lorin Maazel. The horn part was performed by Will Sanders of the Bavarian Radio Symphony, and he will come in-person for the IHS 58 Symposium in Kraków.
The composer welcomed the 21st century with a chamber music work, Sextet for clarinet, horn, string trio, and piano (2000). The world premiere of the work took place in the Vienna Musikverein, the concert hall famous for the “New Year with the Vienna Philharmonic” concerts. From the all-star team of musicians, the horn part was performed by Radovan Vlatkovic who worked closely with the composer on the part. The extraordinary fruit of that relationship came in 2008 when Penderecki composed his Horn Concerto Winterreise, dedicated to Vlatkovic. The concerto is 17-18 minutes long, and in it, the composer exploited the most beautiful qualities of horn: deep expression of sound, long phrasing, intimacy, sometimes brutality and power, and the colors of both muted and stopped horn. The inspiration of the title Winterreise (Winter Journey) came more from the season spent composing the work and travelling in winter than from the famous song cycle of Franz Schubert. The work has notable recordings by Radovan Vlatkovic with the Sinfonietta Cracovia of Kraków and again with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Jennifer Montone with the Warsaw National Philharmonic, and Katerina Javurkova with the Sinfonia Iuventus. The work is also available with a piano reduction; it is published by Edition Schott.
Additionally, Penderecki composed several short virtuosic pieces dedicated to notable soloists. In 2012, he composed Capriccio per Radovan “Il sogno di un cacciatore” per corno solo, a piece again dedicated to Radovan Vlatkovic. The Italian title translates as “A Hunter's Dream,” and the work starts strangely with an imitation of snoring! In the dreams of a sleeping hunter, a horn player sounds themes from Penderecki’s works as well as those of other composers. The piece ends with one of the most famous motifs for horn, the call from the Hunters’ Chorus from Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz. Capriccio is also published by Edition Schott.
Capriccio is the obligatory piece in the IHS Premier Soloist Competition at IHS 58 in Kraków. I believe it will be interesting to hear several different interpretations, and personally, I wonder if the younger generation will interpret Capriccio more as a dramatic work or as a comic piece? or perhaps we will be surprised!
IHS 58—Symposium Updates
Winter in Poland will give way to a beautiful Symposium summer this coming July, and now is the time to prepare for IHS 58. Registration is officially open.
Dormitory reservations can be made. Other accommodations will become available in the next few weeks; watch for options and reserve your preferred location early.
Competitions include those for Horn Quartet in 4 divisions, Horn Ensemble in 3 divisions, Natural Horn and Jazz Horn competitions, plus the IHS Premier Soloist Competition and the Frizelle Orchestral Audition Contests. Check the website for applications and to familiarize yourself with the requirements and rules.
Chamber Music Corner—Trevor Zavac’s “Fringe”
by Layne Anspach
Trevor Zavac’s “Fringe” for horn, violin, and piano (2022) will be the focus of this month’s Chamber Music Corner. Trevor Zavac (b. 2000) is a composer and hornist. He received a BM from Indiana University and is currently pursuing his MM in Composition at the University of Southern California. Zavac was the 2024 ASCAP Morton Gould Award winner, and his works have been performed by the Indianapolis Ballet, the Indianapolis Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and other ensembles.
“Fringe” was premiered during the 2022 Brevard Music Center Summer Institute. Zavac included the following program notes for the work:
“Fringe” (2022), for horn trio, is inspired by the idea of pulling at a loose thread on a piece of woven fabric. The music, like fabric, is tightly woven and very compact, but with time, it unravels—being slowly disassembled as the pattern is pulled apart, slipping and snagging on the way, until it dissipates entirely.
Receiving Honorable Mention in the International Horn Society’s 2022 Composition Competition, “Fringe” was subsequently performed at the 2023 International Horn Symposium in Montréal.
The work is in a single movement marked Allegro. The three players begin with short staccato hits using various timbres or techniques: the violin starts pizzicato and the horn plays stopped. As the section progresses, each member has slightly longer motivic elements stacked together. A descending sixteenth-note passage in the violin tumbles into the next section in which we hear continuous lines from all members, and this builds to heavy accents in the violin and horn.
As the music grows to a collective downbeat, the texture changes dramatically and an ostinato is heard in the left hand of the piano. Once the right hand joins, the horn plays a melodic line which the violin subsequently assumes. The ostinato stops leading to more fragmentation, as Zavac puts it, unravelling. The staccato prevalent at the outset of the work disappears, giving way to longer and longer phrases. A new ostinato emerges in the piano, more soothing than the first. This, along with the continued elongation of lines in the violin and horn, brings the work to a measured conclusion.
The reference recording is from a live performance in Auer Hall at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. The hornist is Andre Richter.
Composer Spotlight—Fernande Decruck
by Caiti Beth McKinney
Happy New Year! To start 2026 off on the right note, this month I want to introduce you to a composer who has only come to my attention in the last year: Fernande Decruck (1896-1954). Decruck was a French composer active during the first half of the 20th century who composed an astonishing number of pieces, over 280, despite living only to age 57. Her works covered nearly every musical genre, from orchestral to chamber and solo music. While Decruck is most remembered for her sonata for saxophone, she lavished attention on the horn in several of her compositions.
One of my favorite Decruck works is her double concerto for horn and trumpet, Heroic Poem (Poème héroïque pour trompette solo en ut, cor solo en fa et orchestre). Completed just after the end of World War II, the piece is firmly in the Neoromantic style that had become so popular by this time. The heroics of the music’s namesake are certainly present in the first movement in the form of dramatic and triumphant leaping figures in both the horn and trumpet; however, the second movement is where I believe Decruck truly shines. Dark and rumbling strings underscore lyrical lines in the two solo brass; the whole movement is haunting and melancholy, moving the listener into feelings of grief. This is exhibited no more poignantly than at the end of the movement, where unaccompanied solo horn descends into a final lament, closing the section on a low, mournful concert F. The hero of the third movement is changed by the journey of the second; their bravado has matured, and, while slightly subdued, is no less triumphant. Complex (and very French) skipping and leaping motifs resound in the solo parts, culminating in another concert F in the horn to end the work—though three octaves higher this time!
Heroic Poem is certainly not the only Decruck work to feature the horn, though it is the only one professionally recorded thus far (an outstanding performance with soloists Amy McCabe and Leelanee Sterrett with conductor Matthew Aubin and the Jackson Symphony). Decruck also composed a horn quartet, a short work for horn and piano titled Pastorale Triste, and a fascinating wind quintet with piano Chant Lyrique. Many of her manuscripts are available for digital perusal here thanks to the tireless work of Matthew Aubin and his endeavors to restore Decruck’s compositions from the attic back to the concert hall.
Lowell E. Shaw—A Love of Making Music on the Horn
by Jeffrey Snedeker, Central Washington University, Ellensburg WA
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Lowell E. Shaw (2016)
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The April edition of The Horn Call will feature an article on the life and work of Lowell “Spike” Shaw who passed away on December 8. The article was originally planned as a celebration of his 95th birthday (July 7, 2025), presenting a new updated biography, compiling and combining the work of others, with additional information from Shaw, his family members, friends, and former students. Now, with recent events, it will be expanded to include tributes from friends and colleagues.
It should be noted that Lowell Shaw’s life has been summarized a few times in the past, and the forthcoming article in The Horn Call builds on the following:
Heather Lankford, “Lowell Shaw (b.1930): His Musical Career and Contributions to Horn Ensemble Literature” (DMA dissertation, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2000).
Wallace Easter, “Ride of the Fripperies: An Interview with Lowell E. Shaw,” The Horn Call Vol. XXX, No. 2 (February 2000): 47-50.
“Lowell Shaw (1930-2025)," International Horn Society website.
Born in Joliet, Illinois, Shaw grew up in a musical family that was very supportive of making music and attending concerts by many area groups. Performances by the Chicago Symphony were especially inspirational, particularly during World War II when Helen Kotas was Principal Horn. Spike decided to become a professional musician at a relatively early age, after inspirational experiences at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan, and an opportunity during his sophomore year in high school to play with the Oak Park-River Forest Symphony, a group in which his father played. The orchestra needed a horn player for an upcoming concert that included Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and Spike played second horn to none other than future IHS President and Honorary Member James Winter who was then working on an advanced degree at Northwestern University. These experiences sparked Spike’s interest in making horn his career.
While in high school, Spike had lessons with Max Pottag who was teaching at Northwestern University, so when he decided to make a career of it, continuing his studies at NU was an easy decision. Pottag taught at Northwestern for 18 years, and his teaching stressed the development of musicianship, focusing on tone and facility, which connected well with the idea of playing in a horn ensemble. The horn ensemble experience was significant, involving small and large groups playing repertoire that consisted of Pottag’s arrangements of music from a variety of sources and some original works. Pottag also encouraged the students to make their own arrangements, and this led to what would be Spike’s first published transcription, “The King’s Prayer” from Wagner’s Lohengrin for horn quartet, eventually published by Belwin in 1960.
After finishing his bachelor’s degree at Northwestern in 1951, Spike enlisted in the Air Force, and joined the US Air Force Band at Sampson Air Force Base near Geneva, New York. Many of the band members were Eastman graduates, and everyone was encouraged to compose and arrange music for numerous parades, park concerts, school presentations, social events, and even a weekly radio broadcast. The band program also maintained a few jazz ensembles. Occasionally the dance band would be short a trombone, and Spike filled in, learning a range of jazzy styles. In all, his time at Sampson was extremely important to his future as a composer, arranger, and musician.
After four years in the Air Force, Spike returned to Northwestern University for a master’s degree. In 1956, Shaw heard about a second horn opening with the Buffalo Philharmonic. He auditioned for it and won the position. The orchestra was apparently a good fit for him—he remained Second Horn with the Philharmonic for thirty-eight years until 1994. Spike claimed he was never interested in playing principal horn, although the position was available several times during his career with the BPO. He just loved playing second horn, often quoted as saying he didn’t feel he had the chops or the temperament to be a first chair player. Fortunately, the second horn position also came with many chamber music opportunities.
While playing in the Philharmonic was a good job, in 1956 the symphony season lasted only 22 weeks, so Spike started gigging, teaching privately, and even sold insurance for a brief period to supplement his income. He was soon invited to teach part time at the University of Buffalo in 1957. Shaw’s UB studio usually numbered between six and ten. With an easy-going yet meticulous attitude, he emphasized fundamentals as a means of developing light and fluid technique to make playing the horn easier. And, considering his Northwestern University experience, it is not surprising that he combined this approach with heavy doses of ensemble playing, including frequent duets and trios with his students. Heather Lankford wrote:
The horn students at the university were fascinated by the inclusion of the horn in the dance band and were eager to participate themselves. They approached Shaw about writing parts for an entire horn section, a request with which he complied, and soon he added four horns to the band's roster. Before the horn players were allowed to rehearse with the dance band, Shaw believed the students must be prepared for the different rhythms required by this style of music. Since horn parts typically were not included in jazz or dance bands, horn players generally were unfamiliar with the characteristic rhythms and performance styles.
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Lowell Shaw in 1972
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Shaw’s university horn choir was a great teaching and learning environment for the students, but it also soon became a community gathering place. Together with other area horn teachers and players, Spike initiated the Buffalo Horn Club, meeting regularly at UB on Saturday afternoons. The membership ranged from five to twenty-five members, from junior high school to professional players. The club was primarily a recreational organization that shared information, read ensemble literature, and gave occasional performances. The initial repertoire included some Los Angeles Horn Club arrangements, other traditional horn ensemble pieces and arrangements, and new works, all written, adapted, or arranged by Shaw. The rehearsals were generally informal, usually lasting two or three hours, providing a venue where the sole purpose was to enjoy the sound of horn and to communicate with each other. Younger students would meet first, and professionals would come later. Many former students remember the day they were invited to stay on and play with the older folks.
The idea of publishing Shaw’s music was suggested by one of the horn club members, Jack Nyquist, a chemical engineer with the DuPont Chemical Company. Jack was moving out of Buffalo and asked if he could take some of the music with him. In the 1960s, photocopying technology was expensive and the idea of writing out all parts by hand was not appealing, so Nyquist suggested publication. 
Four members of the horn club, Nyquist, Charles McDonald, a hornist in the BPO at that time, John Park, a music teacher in western New York, and Shaw, provided approximately one hundred dollars each to consult with an attorney for the purpose of printing the first three publications: Fripperies, vol. 1, Four Quartets, and Bach Trios, vol. 1. In an interview in 2000, Shaw said:
The business gradually grew from there.… Two of the original investors left the area and one took a break from the horn, so I was left doing most of the chores. Gradually it became clear that it was really a one-man operation and I bought the others out. What started out as a spare time activity now keeps me quite occupied in my retirement.
The rest is history. The works published by The Hornists’ Nest include over 130 works by 45 composers and 17 arrangers. In the “frippery” style, the total is 40 Fripperies, 19 Bipperies, 8 Tripperies, 4 Mini-Tripperies, 8 Quipperies, and 13 Just Desserts for solo horn “in Frippery style” with optional string bass parts. There are also a few wind quintets and other unpublished arrangements that include the jazzy styles. Since the first volume appeared, the Fripperies, as well as his many other arrangements and compositions for horn ensembles, have become a source of great joy for hornists worldwide. A definitive recording of the Fripperies Volume 1-8 was released in 2001, and a second recording, …ipperies ’n Stuff, was released in 2008.
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Wallace Easter, Tim Schwartz, Lowell Shaw, Jeffrey Snedeker, Calvin Smith, 2001
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There are also two additional recordings released that include music published by The Hornists’ Nest: The Hornists’ Nest (Mark Records MES-29088, 1972) and From Fripperies Back To Bach (Hornists’ Nest Records #2, ca. 1974). These last two were released on vinyl and can be found in libraries and occasionally on eBay. While the Fripperies and similar works have become a staple of horn repertoire, The Hornists’ Nest also features many of Shaw’s arrangements—the most frequent composer from whom he has drawn is J. S. Bach, but there are many others. Heather Lankford’s dissertation devotes an entire chapter to Shaw’s compositional style and includes plenty of examples. The Hornists’ Nest also includes original compositions and arrangements of many other composers.
As IHS members know well, The Hornists’ Nest has been a committed presence at numerous workshops and symposia all over the world. Spike attended the very first annual horn workshop at Florida State University in 1969 and was actively involved with the formation of the International Horn Society, begun in 1970 and finally completed in 1971. He was also a strong voice for the inclusion of horn ensembles in workshop programming, and conducted large groups and led late-night reading sessions that became very popular over the years. He gave many presentations and participated on panels on composing for horns, Frippery styles, and orchestral playing at numerous regional and international workshops.
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Late night ensemble with Shaw conducting, Ithaca NY, 2016
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In 1990, the International Horn Society recognized Spike’s contributions at a national level with a Punto Award. In 2010, he was awarded the society’s highest honor, Honorary Membership, in recognition of his impact at the international level.
From a broader perspective, it is easy to see a connection between Shaw’s values of playing music together and enjoying each other’s company, and the growth of the sense of community in the International Horn Society and among horn players in general. In that same 2000 interview, Spike said, “I feel fortunate that I discovered an unfilled niche and had the background and experience to take advantage of it.” Horn players all over the world feel fortunate, too, and mourn the loss of a dear friend and influential force in music for horn.
Learn more about Lowell Shaw and his impact on the horn world in the April issue of The Horn Call.
The Music of Egmont Fuchs
Egmont Fuchs (b. 1955) served as second horn in the Vienna Symphony Orchestra from 1975-1977, and he played third horn with the Vienna Horn Quartet for nearly four decades. He also studied composition with Alfred Uhl at the Vienna Academy of music. Several of his works for horn ensemble are available as free downloads at https://egmontfuchs.musicaneo.com/. Enjoy his short and festive Fanfare für 8 Hörner.
Student Column—Horn Ambassadors
by Inman Hebert
As horn players, we have an unofficial obligation to serve as ambassadors. A key part of the International Horn Society’s mission revolves around building global fellowship in the effort to educate and to promote the instrument. These ideals rely, in great part, on us being representatives of the horn to non-musical family, friends, and communities. As spokespeople, articulating why the horn matters encourages us to find shared connections which illustrate the horn’s impact in society.
While iconic classical horn moments, such as the solo in the second movement of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, the trio in Beethoven’s Eroica, or Wagner’s “Short Call,” may lack mainstream familiarity, using popular culture and highlighting the role of the horn in film and popular music can foster comprehension as we communicate.
First and foremost, we must understand that not everyone recognizes the horn’s sound. To remove this barrier, we can point out specific moments in popular media that feature horn solos. We must also endeavor to perform more in our own communities. Playing in chamber music ensembles, like brass quintets or horn quartets or performing pops concerts, can provide an entry point for the general public to appreciate the instrument’s captivating tone.
Renowned for its unique rich sound—the sound which we work so hard to develop—the horn features prominently in a variety of films of almost every genre from Westerns to Sci-fi classics to modern superhero movies. To name a few, the horn is featured in the title themes of The Magnificent Seven, Star Trek: First Contact, Band of Brothers, and The Avengers.
For the elevator pitch, “Think of the most epic moments in any movie you have ever watched, and the horn will be present in those triumphs.” Consider, for example, The Lord of the Rings. Highlighting a few horn features in cinematic music can serve as common ground for discussion.
The Star Wars fan can relate to the famous “Princess Leia’s Theme” or “Binary Sunset” (Force Theme), the first of which portrays the character’s emotional depth while the latter elicits hope throughout one of the most iconic movie franchises ever created.
The over one billion people who have been estimated to have seen the Harry Potter movies can easily recognize “Hedwig’s Theme,” the song playing during the opening credits that then permeates the film series. Within this theme, the horn takes over the melody from the glockenspiel, lending its unique sound to the mystique of Rowling’s wizard world.
Additionally, The Beatles, one of the most popular bands ever, feature Alan Civil’s horn playing in their hit "For No One,” which recently surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify.
Through pop culture references, we can promote the horn’s sound, show the extent to which the instrument pervades familiar music (particularly in movies and television), and share the horn’s role in storytelling and in evoking emotion. By engaging with our audience through shared experiences, we go a long way in fulfilling our roles as ambassadors for the horn.
