Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Allegro; Andante con moto; Rondo: Allegro molto
In 1945, the 81-year-old Richard Strauss walked down the stairs of his country retreat with his hands raised in surrender. To the American soldiers who had entered he declared: ‘I am Richard Strauss, the composer of Rosenkavalier and Salome.’ His reference to Salome, one of his more adventurous and outrageous works that scandalised Viennese ears in 1905, contrasts with his preference in later life for composing conservative, safe and respectable music.
Strauss’s involvement with the Nazis remains a matter for debate. It seems that he hoped his retreat from the modern world, which had left him far behind, would exonerate him from charges of collaboration. That world was both political and musical. As music became increasingly avant garde, Strauss retreated further into the comforts of earlier musical practice. The second horn concerto, written in 1942, belongs to this final, reflective period. Fifty-eight years separate the first performances of his two horn concertos, but they are not enormously different in their musical idiom. The first concerto was written for his father to perform, and the second was written as a tribute to his father’s memory. For some reason, Strauss intended that it should be performed only once. This might explain the absence of an opus number. Happily it lies within the public domain and is performed often. It reminds us of Strauss’s love for the instrument, his mastery of its capabilities, and of his thrilling use of horns throughout his orchestral oeuvre.
Each of the first two movements, which are linked, is characterised by continuous melody, suited to the lyrical character of the horn. But we should remember that the modern orchestral horn is descended from the hunting horn. The final movement offers hints of that lineage with its hunting calls, fanfares and assorted flourishes, reminiscent of the finales to W.A. Mozart’s horn concertos and, indeed, of the finale to Strauss’s first horn concerto as well.
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Allegro; Andante con moto; Rondo: Allegro molto
In 1945, the 81-year-old Richard Strauss walked down the stairs of his country retreat with his hands raised in surrender. To the American soldiers who had entered he declared: ‘I am Richard Strauss, the composer of Rosenkavalier and Salome.’ His reference to Salome, one of his more adventurous and outrageous works that scandalised Viennese ears in 1905, contrasts with his preference in later life for composing conservative, safe and respectable music.
Strauss’s involvement with the Nazis remains a matter for debate. It seems that he hoped his retreat from the modern world, which had left him far behind, would exonerate him from charges of collaboration. That world was both political and musical. As music became increasingly avant garde, Strauss retreated further into the comforts of earlier musical practice. The second horn concerto, written in 1942, belongs to this final, reflective period. Fifty-eight years separate the first performances of his two horn concertos, but they are not enormously different in their musical idiom. The first concerto was written for his father to perform, and the second was written as a tribute to his father’s memory. For some reason, Strauss intended that it should be performed only once. This might explain the absence of an opus number. Happily it lies within the public domain and is performed often. It reminds us of Strauss’s love for the instrument, his mastery of its capabilities, and of his thrilling use of horns throughout his orchestral oeuvre.
Each of the first two movements, which are linked, is characterised by continuous melody, suited to the lyrical character of the horn. But we should remember that the modern orchestral horn is descended from the hunting horn. The final movement offers hints of that lineage with its hunting calls, fanfares and assorted flourishes, reminiscent of the finales to W.A. Mozart’s horn concertos and, indeed, of the finale to Strauss’s first horn concerto as well.