Horn Concerto No.1 in E flat major Op.11

Richard Strauss (1864-1949)

Horn Concerto No.1 in E flat major Op.11

Allegro -

Andante -

Allegro - Rondo: allegro

Richard Strauss wrote his First Horn Concerto at the age of 19 and his Second at the age of 78. His life-long devotion to the instrument derives from the fact that he was, quite literally, brought up with it. His father was one of the finest hornists of his day and the composer’s early exposure to it gave him an intimate knowledge of its inner workings, what it could and could not do and what it could do best. So it is not at all surprising that the earliest work by Richard Strauss commonly heard in the concert hall today is his First Horn Concerto. What is more surprising, from a composer as young and as inexperienced as he was at the time, is its accomplishment in such a mature matter as construction.

Like the Mozart Horn Concertos – one or two of which Strauss must have been very aware of – it is in three movements but in this case they are not only linked directly together but also closely integrated through the thematic material they have in common. One of the main themes of the work is the stirring E flat fanfare introduced by the solo horn in the opening bars. An even more important idea is the little arpeggio figure which makes its first prominent appearance on clarinets and bassoons just before the horn comes back with a contrastingly expressive melody in the same key. It is heard again (but upside down this time) as the horn makes its emphatic third entry and yet again (the right way up) at the beginning of another new melody introduced by horn, with a counterpoint on two solo cellos.

So far so conventional. But, although the horn gets going on a virtuoso development of the arpeggio figure and although the orchestra dutifully recalls the fanfare, the first movement does not so much end as slide into the A flat minor harmonies of the next movement. Before we know it, the violins are offering an accompaniment figure based on the ubiquitous arpeggio and the horn is gently shaping the lovely main theme of the Andante. It is a ternary construction with an equally melodious but more dramatic middle section and, after timely reminder from a solo cello, a reprise of the first section.

To solve the problem of getting from there to the E flat major required by the last movement Strauss follows Mendelssohn’s example in a similar situation in his Violin Concerto and interpolates a short, modulating Allegro. Once he gets into the right key, yet again by way of the arpeggio figure, he can set the soloist free with the exuberant main theme of the Rondo. If it is not apparent at this point that new idea is actually a hunting-horn variant of the fanfare, it is clear enough later on when Strauss briefly recalls the fanfare in its original shape. An abundantly tuneful inspiration with attractively lyrical episodes and several echoes of earlier events, the Rondo ends with a brilliant and breathtaking coda.

Gerald Larner ©2007

Richard Strauss (1864-1949)

Horn Concerto No.1 in E flat major Op.11

Allegro -

Andante -

Allegro - Rondo: allegro

Richard Strauss wrote his First Horn Concerto at the age of 19 and his Second at the age of 78. His life-long devotion to the instrument derives from the fact that he was, quite literally, brought up with it. His father was one of the finest hornists of his day – Hans von Bülow described Franz Strauss as “the Joachim of the horn” – and the composer’s early exposure to it gave him an intimate knowledge of its inner workings, what it could and could not do and what it could do best. So it is not at all surprising that the earliest work by Richard Strauss commonly heard in the concert hall today is his First Horn Concerto. What is more surprising, from a composer as young and as inexperienced as he was at the time, is its accomplishment in such a mature matter as construction. While it is not ambitious in scale, it is highly ingenious in the way it is put together.

Like the Mozart Horn Concertos – one or two of which Strauss must have been very aware of – it is in three movements but in this case they are not only linked directly together but also closely integrated through the thematic material they have in common. One of the main themes of the work is the stirring E flat fanfare introduced by the solo horn in the opening bars. An even more important idea is the little arpeggio figure which makes its first prominent appearance on clarinets and bassoons just before the horn comes back with a contrastingly expressive melody also in E flat major. It is heard again (but upside down this time) as the horn makes its emphatic third entry and yet again (the right way up) at the beginning of another new melody introduced by horn, with a counterpoint on two solo cellos, in B flat major.

So far so conventional. But, although the horn gets going on a virtuoso development of the arpeggio figure and although the orchestra dutifully recalls the fanfare, the first movement does not so much end as slide into the A flat minor harmonies of the next movement. Before we know it, the violins are offering an accompaniment figure based on the ubiquitous arpeggio and the horn is gently shaping the lovely main theme of the Andante. It is a ternary construction with an equally melodious but more dramatic middle section in E major and, after timely reminder from a solo cello, a reprise of the first section in A flat minor.

To solve the problem of getting from there to the E flat major required by the last movement Strauss follows Mendelssohn’s example in a similar situation in his Violin Concerto and interpolates a short, modulating Allegro. Once he gets into the right key, yet again by way of the arpeggio figure, he can set the soloist free with the exuberant main theme of the Rondo. If it is not apparent at this point that new idea is actually a hunting-horn variant of the fanfare, it is clear enough later on when Strauss briefly recalls the fanfare in its original shape. An abundantly tuneful inspiration with attractively lyrical episodes and several echoes of earlier events, the Rondo ends with a brilliant and breathtaking coda.