Sir Malcolm ARNOLD (1921-2006)
Horn Concerto No. 2, Op. 58 (1956) [14:42]
Christoph SCHÖNBERGER (b. 1961)
Horn Concerto in F (2019) [30:12]
Ruth GIPPS (1921-1999)
Horn Concerto, Op. 58 (1968) [17:21]
Ben Goldscheider (horn), Philharmonia Orchestra/Lee Reynolds
rec. 2021, Henry Wood Hall, London, UK
WILLOWHAYNE RECORDS WHR068 [62:18]
Malcolm Arnold’s second Horn Concerto was dedicated to the legendary soloist Dennis Brain, who premiered it at the Cheltenham Festival on 17 July 1957. Sadly, it was one of Brain’s final performances before his tragic death in September of that year.
The first thing to understand about the concerto is that, with strings only, there is no contest with the woodwind or brass. It was also “designed to exhibit the extraordinary virtuosity of the soloist”. Arnold wanted to test Dennis Brain’s limits and endurance, so much so that it is rumoured that Brain had to edit some of the highly challenging passages. I find few of Arnold’s lighter fingerprints: a great deal of the music is serious in effect and intent. The concerto’s progress relies a lot on song-like tunes specifically designed to “display Brain’s artistry in shaping cantabile phrases, the warmth and purity of his tone and his clarinet-like fluency”. The horn’s lower register is little used, and there are no hunting cliches. Composer Hugo Cole noted that Arnold “has paid tribute to the musician as much as the virtuoso”.
In Ben Goldscheider’s interesting account, I like the depth of the slow movement with its nod towards Ravel’s Pavane, and the exuberance of the finale. It would be good if he got around to recording Arnold’s first concerto and the Fantasy for solo horn. Other recordings of the concerto include two byAlan Civil and one each by David Pyatt and Richard Watkins. This version is the first in a generation. Sadly, the BBC did not broadcast or record the world premiere at Cheltenham. There is no known recording of Brain playing this piece or any other by Arnold.
I have not heard of Christoph Schönberger, and his name does not appear in these pages. The liner notes say that his Horn Concerto is written “in a tonal and traditional style”. Is this his normal musical aesthetic? He writes: “[The] layout of the work is similar to that of a classical concerto with its first movement resembling a sonata form, the second, slow movement in ternary form (A-B-A) and the third movement […] being a rondo.” Romantic formal techniques are in evidence. Without the score, it is harder to spot recurring themes but their existence suggests a degree of cyclicity in this work. The notes analyse the concerto as a series of “stories”, and is really an analysis of how the various subjects interact. There is no overt programme.
I listened twice straight through but I cannot decide if I like the concerto. It is tuneful, generous and likely pleasing for the soloist, with some gorgeous orchestration, especially in the slow movement. So, a well-wrought concerto which looks back in time. Nothing wrong in that but I wonder if it will take off in the concert halls. I found nothing about earlier performances and no reviews, so this recording seems to be a world premiere.
Ruth Gipps’s Horn Concerto is an undoubted masterpiece. It was dedicated to her son, Lance Baker. who premiered it on 15 November 1969 at the Duke’s Hall, the Guildhall, London. Gipps conducted the London Repertoire Orchestra. It was one of precious few works for orchestra that she wrote during the 1960s; the other is the Third Symphony Op. 57.
The liner notes sum up the concerto’s aesthetic well: “the figure of the horn as the hero is not introduced until the very end of the work”. Much of the progress is contemplative and introspective, and there is an impression of “instability and wandering”, not that this is a negative assessment. The piece seems to straddle various eras, including the classical and the romantic. There are no nods to the avant-garde of the day but the horn solo is often characterised by an extensive range, low notes, wide leaps, and triple tonguing; that gives the concerto at least a veneer of modernism. Perhaps the most significant asset of this concerto is the compelling orchestration. Regarded as demanding for the soloist, it requires a strong technique and the ability to deal with many interpretive issues. It is relatively short, yet a lot is packed into this limited space. This is my favourite work on this disc, in a superb performance by Ben Goldscheider.
There are comprehensive liner notes. The solist devised the detailed analysis and information about the Arnold and the Gipps concertos, and Schönberger about his piece. There are no bios of the composers and no dates are omitted, except 1921, the birth year of Arnold and Gipps. Schönberger seems to have no Internet presence other than a Twitter account. The soloist, the orchestra and the conductor get short bios, and Goldscheider’s website is worth a visit. He gives splendid, authoritative accounts of all three concertos. His tone is bewitching, especially in cantabile and legato, and he copes most sillfully with the technical challenges.
John France
