This disc is entitled
The Art of the Vienna Horn and
for those collectors unfamiliar with
the history of brass instruments a detailed
note by the soloist explains exactly
what the Vienna horn is. Briefly outlined,
most horn players in orchestras throughout
the world now play on an instrument
which is referred to as the double horn,
pitched both in F and B flat, with the
possibility of switching between the
two. The horn is a fiendishly difficult
instrument to play from a technical
point of view. The player's hopes that
the instrument will oblige with the
right notes are all too often confounded,
and intonation problems and split notes
are a constant danger. The main advantage
of the double horn from the player's
point of view is a slight relief from
all this, but there is a price to pay,
in that the tone of the double horn
is less mellow, less round than that
of the Vienna horn. This varies from
player to player, however, and personally
I wouldn't care to engage a professional
advocate of the double horn on the subject.
Nonetheless, the reasoning is that this
characteristic tone colour is at the
heart of the retention of the Vienna
horn – or horn in F – by players in
Vienna, and even a revival of its use
for certain repertoire, notably German
and Romantic, by players in other orchestras
too.
Wolfgang Tomboeck is
first horn in the Vienna Philharmonic
Orchestra, as was his father before
him. This fact alone will lead us to
expect a certain standard and we are
not disappointed. From every point of
view this is horn playing of the very
first rank. The virtuosity is breathtaking,
intonation impeccable and his tone is
so round, rich and beautiful that the
question of which instrument he is using
becomes irrelevant as we surrender quite
simply to the pleasure of listening.
The programme is a
fascinating one. The disc opens with
Beethoven's Horn Sonata, Op. 17, first
performed in 1800 and therefore roughly
contemporary with the first symphony.
I had never heard it before playing
this disc and it really is a superb
work. From the arresting opening to
the dazzling virtuosity of the finale
– written for the natural horn! – the
listener is almost bombarded by one
engaging musical idea after another.
The slow movement lasts less than a
minute and a half, but the hypnotic
dotted rhythms contribute to an intensively
expressive atmosphere. The quality of
Tomboeck's playing is established immediately
and so consummate an artist is he that
the list of attributes seems endless.
To those already cited must be added
a mastery of line in legato passages,
but without forgetting – and this is
particularly refreshing – that the horn
is a brass instrument.
Long, legato
lines are again in evidence in Schubert's
late song Auf dem Strom. The
horn part is conceived as a counterpoint
to the voice and the two are supported
by keyboard figuration representing
water. I hadn't encountered Genia Kühmeier
before, but she excellently conjures
up and maintains the song's atmosphere,
at once melancholy and serene. Further
recordings of lieder from her
will be welcome, and she is admirably
supported by her colleagues. This is
a wonderful song, and the accompanying
notes are so informative and well-written
that the absence of either text or translation
seems all the more regrettable.
[Editor’s Note: Although
certainly not a convenient substitute
for the reproduction of words in the
leaflet the text and various translations
can be found at http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=13381]
The Schumann, composed
in 1849 to exploit the possibilities
of the then new valve horn, is another
immediately enjoyable work. More gorgeous,
creamy horn tone is to be heard again
at the outset and the virtuosity of
the Allegro is brilliantly conceived
for the new instrument and equally brilliantly
dispatched by Tomboeck.
Brahms' Trio Op. 40
is of course well known and available
in a number of other readings, usually
coupled with other chamber works from
the same composer. And what a wonderful
work it is! Psychologically complex,
the composer mourns the loss of his
mother with a certain wildness rarely
associated with him, whilst not neglecting
the hunting features properly belonging
to the instrument. It is here that Madoka
Inui comes into her own, coping expertly
with the considerable demands of the
piano part and not failing to impose
her own personality on the music when
necessary. Father and son are admirably
at one, but there are times when Johannes
Tomboeck's playing can seem a little
pale, particularly in direct comparison
with some of the outsize personalities
who feature on rival issues. But as
is often the case direct comparison
is unhelpful here, when the performance
is so successful in its own right and
when the recital as a whole is so obviously
enjoyable and totally recommendable.
William Hedley
Wolfgang Tomboeck, horn; Madoka Inui, piano;
Genia Kühmeier, soprano (Schubert); Johannes
Tomboeck, violin (Brahms) 
