Horn Concerto No. 3 (Mozart)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-flat major, K. 447 was completed between 1784 and 1787, during the Vienna Period.

Background

The composition was written as a friendly gesture for the hornist Joseph Leutgeb (his name is mentioned few times in the score), and Mozart probably didn't consider it as particularly important, since he failed to enter it to the autograph catalogue of his works. The autograph score remained well preserved; it is stored in the British Library in London.

Instrumentation

The concerto is scored for 2 clarinets in B♭, 2 Bassoons, Solo Horn in E♭ and strings.

Form

The work is in 3 movements:

This concerto "has clarinets besides bassoons and string for accompaniment. They bring warmth and light colouring to this most attractive work, and in spite of unadventurous support they partner the bassoons in many typical phrases."

The main melody of the third movement is reminiscent of the theme from the rondo of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 22 written in 1785.

List of compositions for horn

This is a selected list of musical compositions that feature a prominent part for the natural horn or the French horn, sorted by era and then by composer.

Baroque

Hamburg Concerto

Hamburg Concerto (Hamburgisches Konzert) for solo horn and chamber orchestra with 4 obbligato natural horns is one of György Ligeti's last works, composed in 1998–99 and revised in 2003.

The work was commissioned by the ZEIT-Foundation, expressing the special wish that it should be associated with the City of Hamburg. It is dedicated to the German horn player Marie Luise Neunecker, who premiered the original six movements with the Asko Ensemble in January 2001 in Hamburg (the place of the premiere being another special wish from the ZEIT-foundation).

The final revision is cast in seven movements:

György Ligeti wrote about his work:

The name of the work was chosen in analogy to Bach's Brandenburg Concertos (Brandenburgische Konzerte), Ligeti saw the naming as a dedication:

Notes

External links

Horn Concerto (Carter)

The 'Concerto for Horn and Orchestra is a horn concerto by the American composer Elliott Carter. The work was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra for the horn player James Sommerville. It was first performed on November 15, 2007 in Boston by Sommerville and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the conductor James Levine.

Composition

The concerto has a duration of 12 minutes and is composed in seven short connected sections, which Carter described in the program note as "presenting the many different facets of the horn, which are most remarkable and beautiful."

Instrumentation

The work is scored for solo horn and an orchestra comprising two piccolos, flute, two oboes, cor anglais, two clarinets, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, two trumpets, two trombones, tuba, three percussionists, piano, and strings.

Reception

Reviewing the world premiere, Jeremy Eichler of The Boston Globe praised the concerto, writing:

Reviewing the United Kingdom premiere of the work (performed alongside Carter's Cello Concerto and Boston Concerto), Geoffrey Norris of The Daily Telegraph opined, "Both the Cello Concerto (with soloist Anssi Karttunen) and the Horn Concerto (Martin Owen) identified Carter's innate feel for instrumental timbre, his ability to tap, through his characteristic blend of complexity and clarity, the distinctive personality that an instrument possesses." Fiona Maddocks of The Guardian similarly remarked, "these late works confirmed a new brilliance and drama in Carter's musical voice."