Like the unadorned human voice with its beautiful simplicity, or the drum with its pulsing energ, the horn, with its passionate and evocative tone, began as a truly solo instrument. In contrast to the other members of the orchestra, each of which began as an instrument to be played in the company of others, the horn evolved from a solitary voice. Archaeologists have discovered early horn-like instruments in various regions of the world, dating back over thirty-five hundred years. The lur of the Nordic battlefield, the conch shell of the Polynesian Islands, the shofar of the Jewish synagogue, the alphom of the Swiss Alps, and the hunting horn of the German Schwarzwald were all heard alone and without harmonic or rhythmic accompaniment, so ~t is scarcely a wonder that the heroic and haunting timbre of the horn stirs such strong primordial memories within the human animal. In spite of the fact that the majority of compositions on this recording were written within the
last fifty years, the repertoire showcased here does not make use of the many extended techniques available to contemporary composers. Instead, the purpose of this disc is to highlight the expressive qualities of a naked voice, and to explore the myriad possibilities emanating from that musical chameleon, the solo horn. Having played horn professionally with the Berlin Philharmonic and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bernhard Krol has now focused his talents on composition, particularly on works for the horn. Among these are Missa muta, op. 55, for horn and organ, FZGAXO-Metamorphosen, op. 6 1 of 1977, for horn and string orchestra, the Corno Concerto, op. 29 of 1959, which was one of the first horn concerti to incorporate jazz idioms and free improvisation, and the work on this disc, Laudatio, which was written in I965 in the German city of Kemnat. Born in Berlin in 1920, his compositional studies were with Josef Rufer, one of Arnold Schoenberg's disciples. However, Mr. Krol developed a tonal language that is more similar to that of Max Reger or Paul Hindemith than to that of the Schoenberg school. The horn played during the time of Johann Sebastian Bach was incapable of chromatic melodies, and was used sparingly by both Baroque and Classical
composers. The exact composition date of the Partita in A Minor, BWV 2013 is not known, but it is assumed that it was written in the early 1720's, perhaps while Bach was working for Prince Leopold in Cothen. Bach's Cothen period was incredibly productive; amongst other works, the set of six Sonatas and Partitasfor Solo Violin was completed during that time, in 1720. I transcribed this partita, originally written for the flute, with the knowledge that Bach himself condoned and even transcribed his own compositions for other instruments. The Concerto No. 5 in F Minor, BWV 1056, for keyboard and orchestra, for example, reappears as the Violin Concerto in G Minor. It is believed that an earlier form of the Allemande from this flute partita existed for string or keyboard instrument, because the movement is a continuous line of running sixteenth notes. The absence of rests presents breathing difficulties and thus unique phrasing issues for anyone playing a wind instrument. The stately Allemande in duple meter, the brisk Italian Corrente, the introspective Sarabande, and the sprightly Bourrke Anglaise comprise the movements of this typically Baroque instrumental dance suite. Of the composers represented on this recording, Vincent Persichetti is one of the two who was born, educated, and employed in the United States. Born in Philadelphia in 1915, he attended public school there and later received degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Philadelphia Conservatory. The Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic,
and the Martha Graham Dance Company represent just a few of the more than I00 organizations that commissioned works from him. He also taught at the Juilliard School of Music, where his students included Thelonious Monk, Peter Schickele, Philip Glass, and Richard Danielpour. The Parabk for Solo Horn, op. 120, written in 1972, is the eighth in a series of 25 Parables that he began composing in I965 and concluded in 1986. The Parables are primarily for solo instruments and include works for guitar, piccolo, tuba, harpsichord, and carillon, as well as one each for band and for string quartet. Known for his acerbic wit, he explained in an interview with Musical Quarterly that his music was "not like a woman, that is, it does not have periods." Indeed, while the Parabk has several silences and interruptive breaks, the music is very much a single continuous thought or story. Priscilla McAfee performed the premiere of the Parable for Solo Horn in November of I972 in New York City's Alice Tully Hall. As the second surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach and his first wife, Maria Barbara, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was an important teacher and arguably the most prominent composer in Protestant Germany during the second half of the eighteenth century. Like his father some 25 years earlier, C.P.E. Bach elected to write a multi-movement work for solo flute in A minor. All of his early solo works use continuo except for this particular
one, the Sonata in A minor, H. 562. The impetus for this work was the close and supportive relationship C.P.E. Bach had with his employer, Frederick the Great. Frederick I1 was a major benefactor of the musical arts, and also happened to be an accomplished flutist who had studied with the renowned flute pedagogue, J. J. Quantz. This solo flute sonata was resented to the king as a gift in 1747. As an historical point of interest, in that very same year, C.P.E.'s father met Frederick the Great in Potsdam while visiting his son and new grandson. When the king offered him an original theme for improvisation, Johann Sebastian returned to him with a composition that was to become the Musical OBering, BWV 1079. The Sonata by C.P.E. Bach differs from that of his father in that the three movements are not strictly based on dance forms. Theodore Antoniou began his musical career with studies in violin, voice, and composition at the National Conservatory in Athens and the Hochschule fiir Musik in Munich. He divides his time between composing, a professorship in the Boston University Composition Department, and an international conducting schedule. He joined the faculty of Boston University in 1978, and for the next 25 years worked with John Daverio, who was the Chair of the Musicology Department at Boston University and an internationally recognized scholar of German Romanticism. Mr.
Daverio died unexpectedly in the spring of 2003, and the Lament, according to Antoniou, is "a short four minute piece for solo horn written as soon as we heard the terrible reality on April 14. It is based on a phrase of a folk lament from Epirus (a region in central Greece), and seems to be my immense emotional reaction to the unbearable event and a 'very miniscule tribute' to a great person." I premiered the work in Boston on May 4, 2003. Avrarn David (ni Alan Dexter Kemler) also contributed a considerable amount to the musical life of Boston. Born there in 1930, he received his Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Boston University. After receiving fellowships from Harvard University and Brandeis University, he joined the composition faculty of the Boston Conservatory. His composition teachers included Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen. The Sonata for Solo Horn, op. 101, written in 1978, was given to Gunther Schuller, the noted composer, conductor, and musician, as a fiftieth birthday present. David wrote of his Sonata that, "The work evolved naturally as a large-scale, purely melodic line without such effects as tremolos, trills, fluttertongue, or even the use of mutes... The most immediately audible feature is the continually wide-ranging melodic contour." Robert Ward gave the premiere at the Festival of Contemporary Music at Tanglewood on August 6, 1978. Otto Ketting studied the trumpet as a child in his birthplace, the Netherlands. His early composition instruction came fiom his father, Piet
Ketting, at the Rotterdam Conservatory, and he then continued his studies at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Before committing completely to his current vocation as composer and conductor, he played the trumpet for seven years in the Hague-Resedentie-Orkest. He has completed several commissions for the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and written numerous film scores. He composed the Zntrada in I958 for his own trumpet exam at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, stipulating that it could be performed by either the trumpet or the horn. -Eric Ruske Eric Ruske Horn soloist Eric Ruske has established himself as an artist of acclaim. Named Associate Principal Horn of The Cleveland Orcnescra ar the age of 20, he also toured and recorded extensively during his six-year tenure as hornist of the Empire Brass Quintet. His impressive solo career began when he won the 1986 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, First Prize in the 1987 American Horn Competitioi n, and in 1988, the highest prize in the Concours International d'interpr Ctation Musicale in Reirns, France. ~al
Of his recording of the complete Mozart Concerti with Sir Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Camber Orchestra, the New York Times stated, "Mr. Ruske's approach, firmly positioned with the boundaries of balance, coherence and good taste that govern the Classical Style, enchants by virtue of its confidence, imagination and ebullient virtuosity". Performances as soloist include appearances with the Baltimore Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Shanghai Radio Broadcast Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Jacksonville Symphony, the European Camerata, the San Diego Symphony, the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Kansas City Symphony, the Seoul Philharmonic and a tour with the Israel Chamber Orchestra throughout Israel. His recitals have been presented in venues such as the Louvre in Paris, the 92nd Street Y in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Dukes Hall in London, and the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. An active chamber musician, he has appeared with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, the Moab Music Festival, the Newport Music Festival, the Spoleto Festival, the Festival de Musique in St. Barthlklemy, the OK Mozart International Festival, the Evian Festival, La Musica in Sarasota, Bargemusic in Brooklyn, Music fiom Angel Fire, the Boston Chamber Music Society, and the Festival Pablo Casals both in Puerto Rico and in France. Mr. Ruske is in great demand as a teacher and clinician, and
in addition to having given master classes at over one hundred universities and conservatories in the United States, he has taught at the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, the Tokyo College of Music, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and the College of Music at Seoul National University. This disc represents the fourth solo recording made by Mr. Ruske on the Albany Records label and the fifth collaboration with producer Gregory Squires. He has released two recordings of virtuoso transcriptions for horn and piano, The Classic Hwn and Virtuoso Music for Horn and Piano, and his most recent disc is The Romantic Horn Connrti, a recording of the Strauss and Glitre horn concerti. He also made the world premiere recording of the Contierto Evocativo for horn and string orchestra by Roberto Sierra, and a disc of the complete Mozart Concerti on Telarc. The numerous arrangements and transcriptions Mr. Ruske created for these recordings are now available from Cimarron Music Press. A student of Dale Clevenger and Eugene Chausow, he grew up in LaGrange, Illinois and is a graduate of Northwestern University. He has been the recipient of grants horn the National Philanthropic Institute, the Saunders Foundation, the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, the International Institute of
Education, and Boston University. An Associate Professor and member of the faculty of Boston University since 1990, Mr. Ruske also directs the Horn Seminar at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Gregory K. Squires Having produced and engineered more than 5,000 recordings over the last 30 years, Gregory K. Squires is the President and founder of both Squires Productions and of the MSR Classics record label. He began his musical career studying the horn at the Manhattan School of Music, where he received his B.M and M.M in Horn Performance, and then continued his studies at Yale University. He performed as Principal Horn of the Buffalo Philharmonic under Lukas Foss and was a member of the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra. He served on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music for nineteen years. The recipient of much critical acclaim, Mr. Squires has won two Grammy Awards and was a Grarnmy Nominee for the "Best Classical Producer of the Year" in 1998.