The French Horn Unwound
Tom Service unwinds the 12-foot metal tube that is the French horn to discover its atavistic appeal for three centuries of composers, from Handel to Ligeti and beyond.
The French horn, elemental and atavistic, noble and heroic, has long held a special place in composers' affections. Just think of the horn writing of Bach and Handel, at once earthy and sophisticated, the concertos and chamber music of Mozart, the horns of Beethoven symphonies! Not to mention Schumann's supercharged Konzertstuck for four horns, or the central role the horn plays in Wagner's epic Ring - and in the orchestra of Brahms, Strauss and Mahler. And then there are today's composers...
Tom Service unwinds this 12-foot metal tube to discover its continuous appeal over three centuries with the help of natural horn virtuoso Anneke Scott and self-confessed French horn superfan Oliver Knussen, whose very personal concerto for the instrument was inspired by family and friendship, as well as the great horn writing of the past.
David Papp (producer).
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Music Played
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Julian Anderson
Imagin聮d Corners
Performer: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Sakari Oramo.- NMC.
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Fran莽ois-Joseph Gossec
Symphony in D Op. 13 No. 3 Rh 41 'La Chasse' (1st movement)
Performer: Concerto K枚ln.- Capriccio.
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Igor Stravinsky
The Firebird
Performer: Berliner Philharmoniker. Performer: Bernard Haitink.- Philips.
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Johannes Brahms
Horn Trio in E flat major, Op. 40 (1st movement)
Performer: Teunis van der Zwart. Performer: Isabelle Faust. Performer: Alexander Melnikov.- Harmonia Mundi.
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Denis King
Galloping 91热爆 (Black Beauty Theme)
Performer: London Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Stanley Black.- Pickwick.
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Donald Swann
Ill Wind
Performer: Michael Flanders. Performer: Donald Swann.- EMI.
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Jean鈥怞oseph Mouret
Suite des Symphonies No. 2 (1st and 2nd movements)
Performer: Le Trompes de France. Performer: Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Performer: Neville Marriner.- Philips.
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George Frideric Handel
Io seguo sol fiero (Partenope, HWV. 27, Act I Scene 13)
Performer: Early Opera Company. Performer: Christian Curnyn.- Chandos.
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Horn Quintet in E flat, K.407 (1st movement)
Performer: Teunis van der Zwart. Performer: Marc Destrub茅. Performer: Staas Swierstra. Performer: Emilio Moreno. Performer: Albert Br眉ggen.- Glossa.
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Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 92 in G major 'Oxford' (3rd movement)
Performer: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. Performer: Ren茅 Jacobs.- Harmonia Mundi.
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Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 (4th movement)
Performer: Vienna Philharmonic. Performer: Carlos Kleiber.- Deutsche Grammophon.
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Aprite un po'quegli occhi (Le nozze di Figaro, K.492, Act 4)
Performer: Lorenzo Regazzo. Performer: Concerto K枚ln. Performer: Ren茅 Jacobs.- Harmonia Mundi.
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Carl Maria von Weber
Oberon Overture
Performer: London Classical Players. Performer: Sir Roger Norrington.- Erato.
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Robert Schumann
Konzertstuck for four horns, Op. 86 (1st movement)
Performer: Roger Montgomery. Performer: Robert Maskell. Performer: Gavin Edwards. Performer: Susan Dent. Performer: Orchestre R茅volutionnaire et Romantique. Performer: Sir John Eliot Gardiner.- Archiv.
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Johannes Brahms
Horn Trio in E flat major, Op. 40 (3rd movement)
Performer: Teunis van der Zwart. Performer: Isabelle Faust. Performer: Alexander Melnikov.- Harmonia Mundi.
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Johannes Brahms
Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68 (4th movement)
Performer: Orchestre R茅volutionnaire et Romantique. Performer: Sir John Eliot Gardiner.- SDG.
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Richard Wagner
Das Rheingold (beginning)
Performer: Bayreuth Festival Orchestra. Performer: Pierre Boulez.- Philips.
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Richard Wagner
Siegfried's horn call (Siegfried, Act 2)
Performer: Bayreuth Festival Orchestra. Performer: Pierre Boulez.- Philips.
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Richard Strauss
Ein Heldenleben
Performer: Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Daniel Barenboim.- Erato.
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Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor (3rd movement)
Performer: Berliner Philharmoniker. Performer: Sir Simon Rattle.- Warner 5574242.
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Richard Strauss
Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, AV.132
Performer: Barry Tuckwell. Performer: London Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Istvan Kertesz.- Decca.
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Benjamin Britten
Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings, Op. 31 (Prologue)
Performer: Dennis Brain. Performer: New Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Eugene Goossens.- Australian Eloquence.
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Oliver Knussen
Horn Concerto
Performer: Barry Tuckwell. Performer: London Sinfonietta. Performer: Istvan Kertesz.- Deutsche Grammophon.
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Gy枚rgy Ligeti
Hamburg Concerto (3rd movement)
Performer: Marie Luise Neunecker. Performer: Sibylle Mahni. Performer: Simon Breyer. Performer: Thomas Bernstein. Performer: Ozan 脟akar. Performer: Asko Ensemble. Conductor: Reinbert de Leeuw.- Warner.
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Julian Anderson
Imagin聮d Corners
Performer: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Sakari Oramo.- NMC.
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Thea Musgrave
Horn Concerto
Performer: Barry Tuckwell. Performer: Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Performer: Thea Musgrave.- Lyrita.
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Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 7 (2nd movement)
Performer: Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Claudio Abbado.- Deutsche Grammophon.
Broadcasts
- Sun 4 Mar 2018 17:0091热爆 Radio 3
- Sun 24 Nov 2019 17:0091热爆 Radio 3
- Fri 29 Nov 2019 16:3091热爆 Radio 3
- Sun 24 Oct 2021 17:0091热爆 Radio 3
- Fri 29 Oct 2021 16:3091热爆 Radio 3
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