Jon Woodard wrote: On the other hand, when asking about Beethoven > Symphony > No. 3 and whether is was commonplace to have all three horns play a > certain line together, only one digester(?) responded. The Beethoven > 3rd > is one of the most commonly performed pieces in the repertory of > almost > every professional and amateur orchestra...and we have only one > comment?
Perhaps one of the reasons is that this post came at a time when many listers were still 'off-line' or else had to wade through a variety of emails backlogged in the system. Regarding your question as to the insert in the last movement of the 'Eroica,' it is customary for the second horn to double the the theme that is also played in the first and third. This is the main theme present in augmentation and needs to be very prominent. One problem is that this tune needs a big, fat sound, but without excessive brassiness. My favorite recording of this is the Vienna Philarhomonic with Karl Bohm, director. The horn sound is to die for. To that end, I have always tried to play the majority of this melody on the F horn to approximate that sound. As to other traditional inserts, in the 'Victory Symphony' section of the Egmont, it seems to be customary for the 3rd and 4th horns to double the 1st and 2nd in the fanfare duets. If memory serves correctly, the 3rd and 4th originally double the trumpet parts at this spot. The trumpets and tympani are scored together and will project nicely. The fanfare, signaling the moment of victory, needs to be very prominent. With a smaller string section, as which was normal in Beethoven's time, the original scoring works. It is unfortunate that most conductors will use a full complement of strings, or else will cut maybe only 1 or 2 stands. This heavy string sound makes the texture much to thick for the original clarity of Beethoven's scoring. Listen to some of the recordings of this music done by orchestras who strive to play with the original performance practice (Age of Enlightement, etc.) and you will be amazed at the emergence and clarity of contrapuntal lines. Sincerely, Eldon Matlick ===== Dr. Eldon Matlick, Horn Professor, University of Oklahoma Principal Hornist, OK City Philharmonic 500 W Boyd Norman, OK 73019 (405) 325-4093 off. (405) 325-7574 fax UMI Educational Artist http://music.ou.edu/divisions/applied/horn/studio.html __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Horn mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/listinfo/horn
