Martin Owen, BBC Philharmonic & John Wilson - Martin Owen Plays Strauss, Schumann & Weber (2023) [Digital Download 24/96]

Regarded as one of Europe’s leading horn players, Martin Owen appears as a soloist and chamber musician around the world. Currently principal horn at the BBC Symphony Orchestra, he has previously served as principal horn of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and as solo horn of the Berliner Philharmoniker. Weber’s Concertino was written for the old, valveless ‘natural horn’; its limited range of notes (tied to the harmonic series) was extended mechanically with additional tubing (‘crooks’) and, more artfully, by virtuoso players bending notes, and varied hand stopping. The technical demands of the Concertino are testament to the extraordinary facility of the hornists of the period. The first Horn Concerto by Richard Strauss, written at the age of nineteen, whilst a student, is widely considered his first uncontested masterpiece. Although the influence of Brahms and Schumann are evident, his own compositional voice is unmistakable. Strauss would continue to write significant parts for horn in all of his orchestral scores (possibly an influence of his father, who was a virtuoso hornist), but the second Concerto was not composed until 1942 – some sixty years later. The style is much more neo-classical, even ‘Mozartian’. Schumann’s riotous Concertstück for four horns opens the programme, and features three more outstanding soloists: Christopher Parkes (Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia of London), Alec Frank-Gemmill (Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra), and Sarah Willis (Berliner Philharmoniker).

Tracklist:
01. Schumann: Concertstück for Four Horns and Orchestra, Op. 86: I. Lebhaft
02. Schumann: Concertstück for Four Horns and Orchestra, Op. 86: II. Romanze
03. Schumann: Concertstück for Four Horns and Orchestra, Op. 86: III. Sehr lebhaft
04. Weber: Concertino for Horn and Orchestra, Op. 45, J. 188: I. Adagio – Andante
05. Weber: Concertino for Horn and Orchestra, Op. 45, J. 188: II. Andante con moto
06. Weber: Concertino for Horn and Orchestra, Op. 45, J. 188: III. Recitativo
07. Weber: Concertino for Horn and Orchestra, Op. 45, J. 188: IV. Polacca
08. Strauss: Concerto for Horn and Orchestra No. 1, Op. 11, TrV 117: I. Allegro
09. Strauss: Concerto for Horn and Orchestra No. 1, Op. 11, TrV 117: II. Andante
10. Strauss: Concerto for Horn and Orchestra No. 1, Op. 11, TrV 117: III. Allegro – Rondo
11. Strauss: Concerto for Horn and Orchestra No. 2, TrV 283: I. Allegro
12. Strauss: Concerto for Horn and Orchestra No. 2, TrV 283: II. Andante con moto
13. Strauss: Concerto for Horn and Orchestra No. 2, TrV 283: III. Rondo


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