by Caiti Beth McKinney
Hello all! I want to share an absolutely lovely piece of music with you this month, written by the incredible Mel (Mélanie) Bonis (1858-1937). Bonis was a French composer active during the era known as the Belle Époque whose music is currently experiencing a resurgence, despite being almost completely lost until the 1990s. She was an incredibly prolific composer, writing more than 300 pieces of music ranging in genre from solo and chamber works to large-scale pieces for orchestra. Bonis’ life was a continuous tale of perseverance in the face of hardship and obstacles. In a clever effort to bypass misogyny in the music industry, Bonis signed her compositions using a shortened and more androgynous iteration of her first name and once was even congratulated in print as “Monsieur Bonis” by music critics.
During World War I, Bonis endured the hardships and tragedies many Europeans faced during the conflict but funneled her energies into work supporting the war effort, including taking children orphaned in the fighting into her home. She was a deeply spiritual woman, and many of her pieces were inspired by ancient sacred musical styles like plainchant.
I was recently reminded by a former student/colleague of the specific Bonis piece I would like to bring to your attention, Scènes de la forêt, Op. 123 (1928) for flute, horn, and piano. While originally written to include horn, the part is frequently borrowed by other instruments—I have seen performances with cello, English horn, and even viola substituting for the horn. The four-movement, fifteen-minute piece is evocative, ranging in mood from ethereal to triumphant. The Scènes are definitively representative of Bonis’ signature blending of Impressionistic and Romantic elements in her compositions and the play with color and texture to create vivid images in the mind of the listener. This chamber work is an outstanding addition to any recital program. I hope you enjoy listening to it and performing it!
by Layne Anspach
This month, Chamber Music Corner introduces Eino Tamberg’s Prelude and Metamorphosis, Op. 38 for violin, horn, and piano. Eino Tamberg (1930-2010) was an Estonian composer who studied at the Tallinn Conservatory (now renamed the Estonian Academy of Music). Tamberg taught at his alma mater beginning in 1968, becoming Chair of the composition department in 1978, until 2005. Works for orchestra and the stage make up the main body of his oeuvre.
Prelude and Metamorphosis, Op. 38 is a short two-movement work composed in 1970. Tamberg had five self-determined compositional periods, and Op. 38 was composed during the second period, a period defined by experiments with twelve-tone music within a tonal setting. The first movement, Prelude, is marked andante maestoso, and it features all three instruments together. The horn and violin occupy the melodic space while the piano provides primarily chordal support. The movement ends with horn and piano on a D chord without a third which is sustained into the next movement.
The second movement, Metamorphosis, allegro molto, starts with violin pizzicato. The horn joins, and the two play a duet. In the absence of these two, the piano performs a brief faster section which is followed by a second duet without piano. This volley continues with ever-increasing tempo until all members come together at piu mosso. With the full ensemble, the movement continues in intensity towards a caesura. The final section, Andante, returns to the opening material. The movement ends—in contrast to the ambiguous final chord of the first movement—with a complete D major chord.
The reference recording is from the 2023 New York Chamber Music Festival with former New York Philharmonic hornist Howard Wall.
by Vidhurinda Samaraweera
The horn has transcended its origins as a rustic hunting tool to become an indispensable voice in jazz and improvisational music, popular music, cinematic scoring, and digital productions (read more). This series explores the horn's journey from the symphony orchestra to the recording studio, pioneers in the journey, techniques, and technologies that have redefined its role in popular culture.
From Zero to Hero in Jazz
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Claude Thornhill Orchestra
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While the horn is a staple of the classical orchestra, its integration into jazz was a much more gradual process that began in the 1940s. Initially, the instrument was used primarily for its timbre in large ensembles rather than as a solo voice (read more). The Claude Thornhill Orchestra was among the first to incorporate the horn to achieve a richer, more orchestral palette, a stylistic choice that paved the way for the Cool Jazz movement. This evolution crystallized with the Miles Davis Nonet and the seminal Birth of the Cool sessions (1949-1950), orchestrated largely by Gil Evans. Evans, along with Gunther Schuller, employed the horn to create a relaxed sound that defined the era (read more). Schuller later coined the term Third Stream to describe the fusion of jazz improvisation and classical forms, a genre in which the horn found a permanent home (read more).
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Julius Watkins
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However, the transformation of the horn into a true improvisational jazz instrument is largely credited to Julius Watkins. Often cited as the “father of jazz horn,” Watkins proved that the instrument could navigate the rapid, complex harmonic changes of bebop (read more). His work in the 1950s, particularly with the Julius Watkins Sextet, established a lineage of improvisers that includes contemporary masters such as Tom Varner, John Clark, Vincent Chancey, and Adam Unsworth (read more). These modern players employ techniques common in jazz such as “scoops” (altering pitch with the hand or embouchure) and “ghost tonguing” to align the horn's phrasing with the jazz vernacular.
The Marker of Greatness in Rock and Pop
In the realm of rock and pop, the horn is rarely a permanent fixture, yet its presence often signals high sophistication—a marker of greatness. Its ability to produce both plaintive, human-like vocal qualities and heroic fanfares makes it a versatile tool for arrangers. The Beatles were pivotal in introducing the horn to the pop canon. The track For No One (1966) features a legendary solo by Alan Civil who was pushed by Paul McCartney to play in the instrument's extreme high register, a performance that remains a benchmark for pop horn playing (read more).
Similarly, the Beach Boys' God Only Knows utilizes the horn to create a sombre, spiritual atmosphere essential to the chamber-pop aesthetic of Pet Sounds (read more). This tradition continued through the decades:
Cinematic Soundscapes and Video Games
Perhaps no medium has done more to cement the horn's modern identity than film scoring. Since the Golden Age of Hollywood, composers have relied on the horn for its association with heroism and nobility (read more). John Williams’ use of a solo horn to introduce “The Force” leitmotif in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) is arguably the most famous example, linking the instrument to themes of honor and destiny (read more).
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Bear McCreary
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This legacy has transitioned seamlessly into video game music. Composers like Inon Zur (Fallout, Dragon Age, Starfield), himself a horn player, leverage the instrument to ground sci-fi and fantasy worlds in a recognizable emotional reality (read more). Similarly, Bear McCreary used the horn in God of War to represent a "powerful and masculine" yet sombre theme for the character Kratos, stripping away the bombast often associated with the genre for a more intimate sound (interview with McCreary).
Next month—The Horn and Pop Culture, Part II
by Wojciech Kamionka
Last month in Horn and More, we offered dormitory housing information. On the web page hornsociety.org/travel/symposium-housing, you will learn about housing at the Student Dormitory of the Academy of Music. The cost is ca. US$31.00 per person per day for a double room with private bathroom, and accommodation is available on a first-come-first-served basis. The dorm is just a 5-minute walk to the heart of the historic Jewish district of Kazimierz, and it takes three stops by tram or is a 20-minute walk to the Academy. Walking in the opposite direction for 15-minutes, you will find the Oskar Schindler Factory Museum. The dormitory is also a 12-minute walk from these train stations: Kraków Grzegórzki and Kraków Zabłocie stations, both with direct trains to and from the airport. Practicing is allowed here! Highly recommended.
Address: Ul. Sw. Tomasza 34, Krakow
This 3-star hotel is located adjacent to the Academy—it is exactly 12 steps away! You will not find a place closer to the Academy. It is a great location for exploring the old town of Kraków and its atmosphere.
Kraków's 13th-century Rynek Główny Square is lined with palaces and churches, including the iconic St. Mary’s Basilica. The Kazimierz Jewish Quarter, a 12-minute walk away, is home to the 15th-century Old Synagogue and the Jewish Culture Museum. You can walk both to the hilltop Wawel Royal Castle and to the art museum, each in under 15 minutes.
Prices:
Reservation: Until March 30, 2026, by email: conf.krakow.old.town@campanile.com (email using subject: Horn Symposium), password: Horn Symposium
Payment: No later than May 31, 2026, by payment link or bank transfer
More about the hotel: cracovie.campanile.com
Address: ul. Szeroka 12, Krakow
This is a 4-star hotel in the heart of Kraków’s Jewish district of Kazimierz. Full of history and mystery, it is a unique, magical place.
Hotel Rubinstein is a 15th-century townhouse located at Szeroka Street 12. Helena Rubinstein, the first lady of the world’s cosmetic business, lived in this neighborhood, and Hotel Rubinstein was named in her honor. Hotel Rubinstein combines accommodation with a restaurant as well as artistic and conference facilities.
It is three stops by tram or a 15-minute walk to the Academy. Located in one of the most exceptional and charming places in Kraków, it provides an ideal starting point to discover the city. In the compact neighborhood, you will find some of the main city attractions including the Old Synagogue, Wawel Castle, and numerous historic buildings and monuments. It is about a 15-minute walk to the Main Square.
Price: 420 PLN per day for a double room with breakfast (ca. US$118.00)
Reservation: until May 31, 2026, by email recepcja@rubinstein.pl (email subject: Horn Symposium), password: Horn Symposium
Payment: by payment link or bank transfer via email from the hotel
More about the hotel: rubinstein.pl/en/
by Layne Anspach
This month’s Chamber Music Corner will look at Frédéric Duvernoy’s Trio No. 1 for violin, horn, and piano. Frédéric Duvernoy (1765-1838) was a horn player, teacher, and composer. He was the first horn faculty member at the Paris Conservatory, teaching there from 1795 until 1815. A prolific performer, Duvernoy was a member of the Orchestre de la Garde Nationale and the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Paris. His playing caught the ear of Napolean who appointed him to the imperial chapel. While not exclusively so, most of his compositional output includes horns.
Trio No. 1 for violin, horn, and piano started as a set of three works named Trois Trios Concertante. The work is a two-movement piece, where the first movement, Adagio–Cantabile, starts with a short adagio and a piano cadenza. The movement proper begins with piano support and a horn melody. The violin follows, restating the melody. A brief B section begins with a piano melody using horn and violin as supporting voices. The piano takes on more of the melody than in the initial presentation but finally brings the movement back to a truncated A section which again features the horn. The movement fades away, setting up the second movement.
Allegretto, has a lively and free style in rondo form. The A theme is presented by the horn with piano accompaniment. The violin follows, repeating this theme. A second theme, heard first in the horn, has a snappy feel with frequent dotted rhythms. The violin plays the melody in turn with melodic fragmentation in the piano. The A theme returns in an abbreviated form prior to the third melody, again first heard in the horn but with violin runs accompanying. As expected, the violin follows the horn melody with the new thematic material. The first theme returns, again as an abbreviated version. A short coda brings the work to an exciting conclusion, and these performers recorded an unmarked quicker tempo.
The reference recording comes from the album Horn Trios (Berlin Classics), and the hornist is Felix Klieser.
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.
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!
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