CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES

undertook a grand, concerted piece for not just one horn, but for an entire quartet of the instruments. The Konzertstück that he devised was certainly a showpiece for the valved horn, but it was also so hard as to be proclaimed by some as virtually unplayable — Schumann’s biographer Robert Schauffler decided that “the difficulties are so horrendous that it needs almost the trump of an archangel to cope with them.” Performances of the Konzertstück (“quite a curiosity,” the composer called it) have, understandably, been rare over the years, but when a company of master hornists rises to its challenge, it proves to be one the most exciting entries in all of Schumann’s catalog.

The Konzertstück was written in 1849, when Schumann was in good health and spirits, and producing music with greater ease and alacrity than at almost any other time in his life — some thirty works date from what he referred to as “my most fruitful year.” The work is in the standard three movements, though played without pause. The first movement abounds with breathtaking feats of virtuosity and intricate ensemble (the opening fanfare may well stay in the listener’s mind for days) couched in a fine orchestral accompaniment with expansive harmonies and rich sonorities. Schumann called the autumnal second movement “Romanze,” using as the theme of its center section a broad melody that returns in transformation in the last movement. The finale resumes the quick tempo and the musical pyrotechnics of the opening movement, though it contains some episodes of contrasting character that Alfred Nieman believed were “not far from the impressionistic images of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, woven together with effortless spontaneity.” Schumann piles one challenge upon another as the movement progresses, ending with an admonition to the soloists that the final, rousing pages are to be delivered “mit Bravour.”

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)

Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93

Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 in Bonn, and died on March 26, 1827 in Vienna. The Symphony No. 8 was composed in 1811-1812 and premiered on February 27, 1814 in Vienna, conducted by the composer. The score calls for woodwinds, horns and trumpets in pairs, timpani and strings. Duration is about 26 minutes. The orchestra last performed this piece on October 9-10, 2010, conducted by Marin Alsop

In early October 1812, the Linzer Musikzeitung carried the following announcement: “We have had the long-wished-for pleasure of having in our metropolis for several days the Orpheus and greatest musical poet of our time....” This “Orpheus” was Beethoven, and he had descended on Linz as the last stop in a summer spent taking the waters at Karlsbad, Franzensbrunn and Töplitz in an attempt to relieve various physical ailments. His interest in Linz, however, extended beyond the mineral baths into the private life of his younger brother, Johann. It seems that Johann had acquired a housekeeper, one Therese Obermeyer, and that her duties extended to, as the composer’s biographer Thayer put it, “something more.” Perhaps as much from jealousy as from moral indignation, the bachelor Beethoven did not approve of either the situation or