On the Vienna Horn

by Günter Högner

As a lifelong musician and as first horn of the Vienna Philharmonic (in Vienna there’s no “solo horn”) – as well as professor at the Music University in Graz, sound was and still remains the most important component of music making.

As most people know, the outstanding importance of the Vienna F Horn lies less in its technical possibilities than in the tone quality – the smooth slurs in particular are appreciated and admired.

Where does this “Vienna Horn Sound” quality come from?

The softness of the sound, on the one hand, has to do with the length of the instrument; more overtones are able to vibrate, and through this the sound is richer. The diameter is another component in this formula. Additional factors include the way to blow the air through the horn as well as the articulation, which mustn’t be too hard. And of course it’s also about the slurs that can be so especially lovely on the Vienna horn.

Most people believe that the possibility to play such smooth legato comes from the valves, but this is not true. The quality of the slurs lies in the length of the pipe between the mouthpiece and the valves. The length of the air column from the mouthpiece to the valves is around 1.60-1.80 meters (63-71 inches); in contrast, the Bb horn (on the double horn) is around 20-40 centimeters (8-16 inches). Such a short column of air obviously cannot become as compressed as nearly 2 meters’ worth – the longer tubing is more flexible. It’s because of this that the slurs on the Vienna horn sound so velvety. –But you also have to know how to do it, how to blow the sound as well as how to “lead” the airstream over the slurs. (All this you must “practice, practice, practice…”)

However, the form of the mouthpiece (with the emphasis on the inner dimensions) is a little different then for a double horn; it’s less bulgy, less barrel shaped, more like a funnel. This depends on the shape of the “soul” of the mouthpiece, the middle part (the “soul” is the cylindrical part of the mouthpiece), and on a Vienna mouthpiece this is very long and concludes at its end once again in a funnel shape.

There are also certain variables – on the instrument as well as the mouthpiece – that are responsible for the different sound and method of playing. In addition to this comes the transmission of tradition from teacher to student; see Hans Swarowsky, 1979, who in his book “Preservation of Form” (page 258 in the German edition), emphasizes how valuable it was to him that so much direct tradition was passed down to him (for example, the cultivation of song, going back to Johannes Brahms).

Most conductors highly treasure the horn sound of the Vienna Philharmonic. Here’s a little anecdote from my everyday professional life with one of the (for me) most important conductors, Nicolaus Harnoncourt: A horn player cracked a note unmistakably in a rehearsal. (It was probably me.) Immediately, the cellist sitting in front of him turned around confrontationally. Right away, Harnoncourt – who seemingly wanted to defend the horn player – stopped the cellist with these words: “Don’t turn around! Your colleague is playing on the F horn – not on a double horn, that you…um…that you…um, er, that you can buy anywhere.”

Enough with the anecdotes. Frequent “clamming” is of course the trade-off for the otherwise celebrated sound quality. Because of this, neither can the F horn compete soloistically nor technically with the double horn.

So why do I give so much worth to the Vienna horn?

Well, in the Romantic era, almost everything is written for the valve horn in F, which was, back then, the most commonly available orchestral instrument. I play (and teach) it because of the already addressed tone quality and beauty of sound.

I’d like to emphasize the importance of transposition skills – thus the ability to read the parts in their original keys!

In my view, it is immensely important to play the orchestra and solo parts from the scores in their original keys. You can then more easily recognize the original “stopped” and “half-stopped” tones – and musically interpret them accordingly.

In conclusion, I would like to give students one more piece of advice for the road: Don’t go to too many courses with different teachers! Every one of them will have a different point of view. You will be more confused than enlightened.

A good teacher needs (roughly) at least 1 to 2 months to be able to judge all the strengths and weaknesses of a student. A horn course, in contrast, is usually over in 10 to 14 days. There are students who “collect” courses the way other people collect stamps. And then they wonder why a longer-term success evades them.

About me: I was born on July 16, 1943, in Vienna. At age 13, I received my first instruction on the horn at the Conservatory of the City of Vienna with Prof. Franz Koch (Wiener Symphoniker). A few years later, I began my serious studies at the Music Academy with Prof. Leopold Kainz (Vienna Philharmonic). There followed after this a few “learning years” with smaller orchestras in Austria. In 1965, I came to the Vienna Folk Opera as first horn, and a short time later, to the Vienna State Opera in the same capacity. In 1971 I also became first horn in the Vienna Philharmonic.

In addition to my orchestral activities, I played in several chamber music ensembles, including the Ensemble Wien-Berlin. I took over as professor of horn at the Music University in Graz in 1982 and taught there until 2011.

Translation: KMT 

Andrew Pelletier: What is your horn story?  What brought you to the horn?

James Patterson: I started the trumpet in junior high band camp but switched to the tuba to play in the advanced band. Later in high school while working on the Wilder trio for horn, tuba and piano, the sound of the horn caught my ear. So, I switched to the horn in my sophomore year.

-What brought you to the craft of building?  Did you come to it via repair and customization?  Did you apprentice with anyone?

I've always had an interest in how things work, especially musical instruments. While in junior high school (middle school) I regularly took home various instruments, cleaned and oiled them and tried to learn how they worked. I re-padded a flute and a baritone sax and whenever an instrument needed repair, I volunteered to take it to shop where I watched the repair tech and subsequently learned about instrument repairing. While in college I did repair work during the summers, and after my University experience I was offered a job working for Robert Atkinson. This was the first time I worked as a specialist building and modifying horns. After that I got a “real” job working in the aerospace industry. I worked my way up the ladder and ended up as a manufacturing manager with 29 people in my department. Of course, I continued playing the horn, doing some recording work and freelancing. After ten years, I really wanted to return to the music business, so I started working as an independent contractor at Bob Malone’s Brass technology shop. I quickly became the top horn specialist in LA; that was where I honed my skills and began to think about my own designs.

-When did you make the shift to horn builder?  Was it a moment in time, or did it evolve gradually?

When I left the aerospace job, I started getting a lot of performing work, especially recording. But the industry was shrinking quickly, leaving me with a lot of time and opportunity for horn design. I started spending more and more time working on horns. I was the go-to guy at Bob Malone’s Brass Technology in Van Nuys, CA.  There was definitely a day when It became obvious that I needed to open my own shop. So, In the mid 90's I parted ways with Bob Malone's shop and began Patterson Hornworks. One of the first things I did was to take a class on natural horn building with Lowell Greer where I learned the skills needed to make my own horns. Initially, I focused on building natural horns, complete crook sets and sheet metal mouthpieces. I really enjoyed making these horns and was able to perform regularly on the natural horn in the LA Baroque Orchestra. I was also doing a lot of horn rebuilding and customizing as well as mouthpiece making.  As I continued to learn the fine points of horn design, I developed my own leadpipe and first branch tapers. From there, it was an easy transition to building the whole horn.

English version

Foi com grande satisfação e alegria que recebi do meu muito estimado Prof. Ab Koster o desafio de dar a minha contribuição para a Coluna Pedagógica da IHS Newsletter. Esta Coluna é uma ideia fantástica e tem apresentado artigos muito interessantes e inspiradores. É mais uma demonstração do papel da IHS e de como é uma verdadeira sociedade internacional. Sem querer ser demasiado exaustivo, gostaria de partilhar com os leitores algumas das minhas ideias principais sobre a trompa e sobre a sua prática.

O caminho para o sucesso é muito complexo e depende de muitos aspectos que estão interligados. Como em tudo na vida tem de haver equilíbrio e estabilidade. No entanto, nesta ocasião, gostaria de destacar alguns pontos que para mim são fundamentais:

1 – SOM

Na minha opinião é aquilo que mais diferencia a trompa de todos os outros instrumentos. Certamente é o que, a nós trompistas, nos apaixona e o que encanta o público. Haverá sempre instrumentos que tocam mais forte que uma trompa, que serão mais virtuosos, que tocam mais agudo, mais grave, etc. Mas poucos instrumentos têm a capacidade de encantar com um simples som e de tocar qualquer alma. Olhemos para alguns dos nossos solos orquestrais mais admirados, como por exemplo a 2ª Sinfonia de Brahms, 5ª Sinfonia de Tchaikovsky, 9ª Sinfonia de Beethoven (Trompa IV), Nocturno de ‘Sonho de uma Noite de Verão’ de Mendelssohn, 1ª Sinfonia de Mahler, Sinfonia Alpina de Richard Strauss, etc… Não serão certamente exemplos de virtuosidade, no entanto são momentos fantásticos do repertório orquestral e capazes de deixar qualquer plateia rendida. E porquê? Certamente pela capacidade sonora do instrumento. Em suma, no meu entender o primeiro fundamento é a qualidade sonora. Deverá ser algo que nos identifica, a nossa voz e alma. Independentemente de haver diferentes conceitos sobre sonoridade, para mim o mais importante é que o som seja centrado, claro, e projectante. A nossa embocadura, a posição da mão dentro da campânula, a forma como respiramos e usamos o ar têm um papel decisivo na qualidade da nossa sonoridade.

2 – EMBOCADURA

O papel da embocadura é crucial e definidor daquilo que somos como trompistas. Uma embocadura forte e estável é fundamental. O objectivo é tocar de forma competente em todo o registo da trompa, conseguir ser flexível mantendo a qualidade da sonoridade e afinação. Recomendo a prática diária de vibração labial, com e sem bocal. O estudo de notas longas é muito útil para o fortalecimento da embocadura, resistência e da qualidade sonora.

Kristina Mascher-Turner: Tawnee, you are a woman of many talents - it’s hard to know where to start! How about at the beginning? How did you come to play the horn in the first place, and how did you first start your career as a horn player?

Tawnee Lynn Lillo: If I could describe my unique prowess to the reader, it’s that I’m excited about everything. To some people, this must sound exhausting :) After dabbling in running, tennis, sports, piano, flute and some violin, the horn pretty much called my name in band one day in 8th grade. My family of 7 lived on 80 acres of land so that my father could have an airstrip to fly his planes to/from work. We “temporarily” (1988-2006) used a diesel-powered generator for electricity. Watching Independence Day with my family at home during generator hours was when I was first sold on the horn!! The student model F horn we all start out on came home with me, and I taught myself how to change the sound from a dying elephant to something more enjoyable that summer (I had a cockatoo at the time who would sit on the bell and bob his head up and down to my beats). As for my career, I feel I am smack dab in the middle of it as we speak and am doing everything I can to stay focused, alert, aware, happy, and smiling, helping and inspiring as many as I can along the way. After studying at the University of Arizona with Keith Johnson as well as at USC with legends Vince DeRosa and Richard Todd, I started playing small jobs around campus and the surrounding areas. From there, all kinds of adventurous opportunities arose. Every SINGLE person I started my Masters degree with at USC is playing at the highest level and mostly teaching at colleges/universities!

KMT: While at music school, we are often captivated by the idea of winning that big orchestra audition and settling into a stable routine (and salary). So often, destiny takes us in other directions. How important is it for us to keep our feelers out for alternate paths?

TLL: Being in that principal horn spot, especially (on any part) full time in a symphony is an accomplishment for the history books and really takes a badass individual. Preparing, staying focused, being a team player who works well in this setting, having the proper balance, etc. is something many dream of while some naturally have that talent/skill. With all kinds of talent in our industry, and with the whole entrepreneurial picture, now is definitely the time to learn, research, develop and incorporate other skills that allow our musical abilities to grow and expand. It’s pretty incredible getting the opportunity to do what I do as I’m sure most of you reading can relate to on some degree. Being surrounded by and getting to hang out with, make music, perform, laugh, and have deep/important conversations with such skilled colleagues, friends and mentors alike is an incredible gift. Having the opportunity to sub more with the San Diego Symphony has been a highlight, and preparing my student for the professional world has been a reminder of how well I was taught/guided!!

KMT: You first got into contracting through your association with an opera company - can you tell us about those early key moments?