The recording features Bart Aerbeydt playing a Raoux horn from around 1800 and a Richard Seraphinoff copy of an Anton Kerner classical horn, while Gijs Laceulle plays an Antoine Halari horn and a similar Seraphinoff copy.
Composer Biography
Leopold Mozart, father of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was a respected composer and teacher during his lifetime, and his 1756 treatise on violin playing is still a reference for 18th-century music interpretation.
Critical Reception
Antonio Rosetti's Concerto for 2 Horns and Orchestra in E flat major was mistakenly attributed to Joseph Haydn for decades, even being recorded and published under Haydn's name.
Compositional Technique
The technique of hand-stopping, where a hand is inserted into the horn's bell to produce notes outside its normal harmonic series, was discovered around the mid-18th century.
Composition History
Beethoven's Sextet for 2 Horns, 2 Violins, Viola, Cello and Double Bass, op. 81b, was likely written around 1795, despite its high opus number, and published in 1810 by Nikolaus Simrock, a horn player and publisher.
Composition History
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Horn Duos K.487/K 6 .496a were composed on July 27, 1786, "while playing skittles," as noted by Mozart himself.
Historical Context
The pieces on this album, covering 1752 to the early 19th century, were all intended for natural horns before the invention of valves around 1815.
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Works for Horn and Strings
Hummel: Piano Trios Nos. 1, 5 and 7
Beethoven: Septet & Sextet
Beethoven: Septet, Op. 20; Clarinet Trio, Op. 11
Beethoven: String Quintet in C Major / Septet in E-Flat Major
