Etienne Cutajar, the horn player on this album, was Principal Horn of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and previously Associate Principal Horn of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for ten years.
Composer Biography
Johannes Brahms opted for the natural horn in his Horn Trio in E-Flat Major, Op. 40, which he wrote in 1865, the year his mother Christiane passed away, and the trio is partly a memorial to her.
Composition History
Ludwig van Beethoven composed his Sonata in F Major for Horn and Piano, Op. 17, in 1880 for the Czech hornist Johann Wenzel Stich, also known as Giovanni Punto, a pioneer of the stopped-note technique.
Historical Context
The horn has been a standard orchestral instrument since the early 18th century, valued for its beautiful sound and versatility, reminiscent of its origins as a hunting instrument.
Instruments
Most 18th and 19th-century horn concertos were virtuosic pieces by minor composers, often horn players themselves, due to the technical challenges of the natural horn.
Composer Biography
Richard Strauss's father, Franz, was a leading horn-player and his earliest mentor, and Strauss dedicated several works to him, including the Andante for Horn and Piano in C major, op. 86A.
Compositional Technique
Brahms's Horn Trio, Op. 40, is unconventional in its four-movement structure and starts with an extended slow movement, similar to a Baroque sonata da chiesa.
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