Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, K417

Mozart excelled in all areas of composition, and his horn concertos – despite making up a very modest part of his total output – still reside among the finest achievements in the horn literature. The composer became acquainted with the mellow sonorities of the instrument from an early age, courtesy of his friend Joseph Leutgeb, who had been employed by the Hofkapelle in Salzburg. It was not until the remaining 10 years of his life, however, that Mozart finally set to work on his six concertos for horn.

Apart from K370b/371, which represents the composer’s first attempt at writing a horn concerto and whose musical content differs markedly from that of the later ones – there are no ‘hunting effects’ in the rondo and the first movement is more declamatory in style than lyrical – it seems that all of the works were composed for Leutgeb, who was often a target of Mozart’s mockery and teasing. Though the numerous points of harmonic, melodic and structural correspondence between the pieces suggest that Mozart did not take this genre especially seriously, the works still delight the listener for their gaiety, lightness of touch and warmth of orchestration. It is therefore a shame that only three of the six pieces remain complete, a resulting combination of more pressing work, lost manuscripts and the composer’s untimely death. Jeurissen, the soloist on this recording and principal horn player of the Residentie Orchestra in The Hague, has taken it upon himself, based on analyses of similar passages in other works by Mozart, to work up all of these fragments into playable, practical versions. The results are laudable, and Jeurissen’s passion for the works is evident from his highly accomplished, charismatic playing.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most celebrated composers of all time, contributed to every major genre of composition during his short life. Not to be restricted by the rules of the Classical period, Mozart developed a revolutionary style which produced some stunning results.

It is suspected that each of Mozart’s horn concertos was written for Joseph Leutgeb who, 24 years older than Wolfgang, had already established himself as a renowned horn virtuoso by the time of the composer’s birth. After moving to Salzburg to take up his position as principal horn of the Prince-Archbishop’s orchestra, Leutgeb became a close friend of the Mozart family and to Wolfgang in particular, as confirmed by the various jokes and light-hearted insults that litter the scores of the horn concertos. The composition of each of these sprightly works reflects the age and ability of the intended performer; the range of the solo part gradually becomes smaller, first losing the top notes and later the lowermost ones as Leutgeb’s capabilities declined.

Dutch horn player Ab Koster studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music in his hometown of The Hague, earning the coveted Prix d’excellence. He has held the post of first horn with the NDR Symphony Orchestra (Hamburg) and has enjoyed an illustrious career as a recitalist. He is accompanied on this disc by Tafelmusik, conducted by Bruno Weil.

Recorded in 1993.

New booklet notes by Graham Rogers.

The cheapest, most attractively presented and most comprehensive single disc (78 minutes) of Dennis Brain in today’s market.

Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Dittersdorf, Dukas and an excerpt from the Hoffnung Music Festival, 1956.

Newly re-mastered.

‘He was innately musical in a way which defies description or analysis. He shaped phrases with an instinctive rightness that seemed inevitable. Technical problems did not exist for him. He had tamed the most notoriously intractable of all instruments to be his obedient servant and raised it again to sing the song the sirens sang.’ Walter Legge