The Horn

I went to my kid’s Winter Concert tonight. It was good. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. And it got me a little nostalgic for my playing days. I was a horn player. (If you’re wondering what kind of horn, it’s the French Horn. Those of us who have played never call it a French Horn, though. It’s always just the horn.)

I picked up the instrument in 4th grade. I didn’t know what it was or what it sounded like when I picked it. I thought it looked neat. It’s all curly and loopy with a huge bell and a tiny mouthpiece. And no one told me that it’s said to be the hardest instrument to play. I saw it, thought it looked neat, and decided I was a horn player.

I quickly fell in love with the instrument. It turns out it has an absolutely gorgeous sound in the right hands. If you’re not sure what it sounds like, check out Darth Vader’s Funeral in Return of the Jedi. John Williams is a master at composing for the horn. It’s all over his soundtracks. He clearly loves the instrument, too.

I played all the way through college. I sometimes say, only half-jokingly, that music is what got me through school. I wish I had kept up with it after school. Maybe found a community orchestra to play with. Maybe someday. There is a hilarious book called A Devil to Play by Jasper Rees about a guy who had played the horn in school and was trying to relearn it as an adult. That could be my inspiration.

While I’m reminiscing, here are some of my favorite pieces that I played on the horn:

Holst: First Suite for Military Band in E-Flat major Op.28-1 – YouTube

Holst: Second Suite for Military Band in F major Op.28-2

English Folk Song Suite – Ralph Vaughan Williams

Armenische Tänze / Armenian Dances – Alfred Reed – Junge Blaeserphilharmonie Ulm

Mozart Horn Concerto No 3 E flat major K 447 Radek Baborák RTVE Jean Jacques Kan

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, 4th movement | Paavo Järvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen

Brahms: 2. Sinfonie ∙ hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ Andrés Orozco-Estrada