Classical and Modern Music
Format: CD
Code: 113093
EAN: 3838898113093
W. A. MOZART - THE HORN CONCERTOS
Mozart’s affinity for the horn is evident in his four concertos, not least because this was the greatest number of concertos he wrote for any instrument other than the piano or violin, but in the way he exploited its deep, baritone-like sound. With origins in hunting, this ancient brass instrument’s penetrative yet noble sonority proved to be exceptionally suitable for the so-called ‘Sensitive’ style, a delicate musical
expression developed by the Mannheim School and perfected by Mozart. The concertos were written for his friend Ignaz Joseph Leutgeb, a horn player in the Orchestra of Salzburg, Mozart’s home town. In 1777 Leutgeb moved to Vienna and opened a cheese shop. In 1783, after his dishonourable discharge from the employment of the Archbishop of Salzburg, Mozart similarly settled in Vienna. The benevolent and simple Leutgeb became a close friend of Mozart (after his death he helped Mozart’s widow
Constance to organise his scores). Their friendship can also be witnessed in the witty remarks written for him in the concertos’ scores. However, the first sketch of a solo horn concerto was written for Franz Lang, a horn player in the Mannheim Orchestra and later on in Munich Orchestra, whom he met in the winter of 1780-1781 while working on his opera Idomeneo in Munich. His stay there came to an abrupt end in March 1783 when he was called back to Vienna by his employer and feudal lord
the Prince-Archbishop Colloredo. The coronation of Emperor Josef II was approaching and the Duke wished to honour him with his finest musicians. The Concert Rondo for horn and orchestra in E-flat Major KV 371 was sketched on the 21st March, five days after arriving in Vienna. This was most definitely written for Franz Lang, who was a true virtuoso and was capable of dealing with the Rondo’s series of leaps and trills, which were quite a challenge at the time given the instrument’s lack of
valves. Leutgeb, who was also an excellent horn player, had more of an inclination towards lyrical lines.
The four concertos for Leutgeb were written between 1783 and 1791. They all have common characteristics. Their first movements all begin with an orchestral exposition in which the lyrical first theme appears. It comprises both flowing and lively motifs. The soloist however introduces a new theme, sometimes a variation of the orchestra’s. The slow movements convey melancholy and noble emotions often praised
by the late 18th Century, an age of the romantic novel and a pre-romantic awakening. The third movements are the socalled ‘hunting rondos’. The most well-crafted is the third concerto from 1787, with memorable and evocative melodies. The first horn concerto in D Major KV 412 (in contrast with the others, all in E-flat Major) is thought to have been written in 1782, however the handwriting of the manuscript suggests it was written somewhat later than this. It is suggested that Mozart composed
this concerto using some of Leutgeb’s own melodies. Mozart definitely didn’t finish the work; the second movement is either lost or never existed, while the Rondo was composed in Mozart’s style by his favourite pupil Franz Xavier Susmayr. This recording features an arrangement of the concerto by musicologist Karl Marguerre and horn player Hermann Baumann.
Boštjan Lipovšek comes from a musical family where playing the horn has become somewhat of tradition. His father, an amateur horn player was a member of the Railroads Wind band which is nowdays led by Boštjan's brother Franci, also a horn player. He studied at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana with professor Jože Falout where he finished his Bachelor and Master Degrees. He continued his studies with professor
Radovan Vlatkovič at the Salzburg ¨Mozarteum¨. During his studies in Ljubljana he was awarded the ¨Prešeren Student Award¨ for his perfomance of Richard Strauss' First Horn Concerto. In 2001 he won the international competition ¨Citta di Porcia¨. He was a teaching assistant at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana from 1999 to 2004 when he became a professor. Upon invitation in 2005 he took up a teaching position
at the Academy of Music in Zagreb. In 2008 he was awarded the ¨Prešeren Foundation Award¨. He has been the principal horn player of the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Ljubljana for the past 17 years. In this time he has recorded the concertos of Richard Strauss, W.A. Mozart, Reinhold Gliere and Jiøi Pauer. He has given premiere perfomances of works by L. Lebič, I. Petrič, T. Habe and U. Krek.
Born in Los Angeles, Evan Christ first studied mathematics and composition at Harvard University. He then went on to study conducting with Gert Bahner at the University of Music and Theater »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy« Leipzig and took private lessons with Christoph Eschenbach. In 2003 Christ became First Kapellmeister and Deputy General Music Director at the Mainfranken Theater Wurzburg and has since been appointed to several other positions in
Wuppertal and Wurzburg. Since August 2008, Evan Christ has been General Music Director at the Cottbus State Theater, which makes him one of the youngest general music directors in Germany. In 2004, the conductor won the Theater Award in Wurzburg. He received a special award in the context of the German Conductor Prize 2006 (Deutscher Dirigentenpreis). Christ is the founder of the Las Vegas Music Festival, of the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra at the University of Music and Theater »Felix
Mendelssohn Bartholdy« Leipzig and of the Ensemble Apart for Contemporary Music. Under his direction, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Cottbus State Theater was awarded for its innovative programming with the prize for »Best Concert Program in the 2010/11 Season« by the Association of German Music Publishers (DMV - Deutscher Musikverleger-Verband e.V.) Evan Christ made his debut at the Salzburger Festival in summer 2011 with the performance of Salvatore Sciarrino's opera Macbeth together
with the Vienna-based Klangforum Wien contemporary classical music chamber orchestra.
Translated by Klemen Glas
TRACKS:
Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat major KV 417
1. Allegro maestoso 6:28 (listen!)
2. Andante 3:40
3. Rondo 3:26
Horn Concerto No. 3 in E flat major KV 447
4. Allegro 6:56
5. Romanze (Larghetto) 4:52
6. Allegro 3:41
Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat major, K. 495
7. Allegro maestoso 8:12
8. Romanza (Andante) 4:48
9. Rondo (Allegro vivace) 3:46
Horn Concerto No. 1 in D major KV 412/514
10. Allegro 4:58
11. Rondo (Allegro) version K.Marguerre 3:45
12. Rondo in E flat major KV 371 rev. R.Levin 5:38
