The Schumann Konzertstueck thread: Yes, there is a 4-horns-only-score, also a piano reduction & a conductor score, published earlier by KaWeAmsterdam, which is part of my publishing, since I acquired this company after the death of Klaas Weelink 1983.
This piece has not been written for the average hornplayer. It has not been written for the average professional hornplayer, at least the first two solohorns. It also has not been written for the very good prefessional hornplayers, but for the very best of the best professional hornplayers. What seems so difficult in the first part, seen from modern composers eyes ? The chromatic, used by Schumann ? Why at all ? Nothing special. All is within the common natural horn technique. But how should a composer, who is not a very specialized hornplayer of outstanding qualities know that ? No way ! Most hornplayers do not believe such technique was possible on the simple handhorn. Did they or do they believe, that all the Wagner- and Richard Strauss- and Mahler-stuff be possible on the single Viennese F horn ? How should they believe it be possible, to play op.86 on the handhorn ? But I might say as excuse, that the same happen in other fields of life. To the composers on the list: should a composer implement all possible effects, the full compass with the extreme high & the extreme low notes on the horn in his or her compositions ? Certainly not ! If he or she has an equal superb knowledge of the horn technique as had Richard Strauss, well, keep on writing one piece better than the other. If the effects or the extreme compass would be necessary to pep up the pieces because of lack of imaginative power, better quit. We have enough garbage pieces, which only look interesting for the musicologue or from graphical view. And we need more good pieces for the average player, not competition pieces of greatest difficulty. Furthermore: I am missing melodic lines on most contemp solo pieces. A last word to the musicologists: Nobody can expect, that they were specialists for all instruments. Nobody can be a specialist for more than one instrument (the related instruments included; for the horn: wagnertuba, descant, Viennese, handhorn, parforcehorn, double, etc.). And most musicologists are not be found at high professional level of that particular instrument. The result is the rather amateurish approach to the interpretative technique of the instrument. Moral: the musicologists should much better listen to the very high classified instrumentalists, but not take everything as bare truth. If they listen better to the high qualified instrumentalists & evaluated their (the instrumentalists) explanations, statements etc. with their (muscologists) critical view, they would be right on & of highest value for all musicians. Regards from Hot Spa (46 centigrades) in SW Thailand,enjoying retirement Hans -- SigfridFafner the under ground horn player from Vienna _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
