Early Romantic Horn SonatasBLU-RAY+SACD, DOWNLOAD

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Article By Robert Markow

RIES Grande Sonata in F. F. DANZI Horn Sonata inE♭ KRUFFT Horn Sonata in E • Steinar GranmoNilsen (natural hn); Kristin Fossheim (fp) • 2L 113-SABD (Blu-ray + SACD 67:38)

Nearly five years ago (Fanfare34:5), I wrote a near-rave review ofa program similar to this oneplayed by natural hornist JohnStobart. Since then I have hadoccasion to cover other natural hornrecitals, but none in the league ofStobart—until now. (I’m notforgetting Pip Eastop, but hisprogram is the Mozart concertos,not a recital with keyboard.) TheNorwegian Steinar Granmo Nilsenis a phenomenon—a true virtuosoin the sense that he has totalmastery of every aspect of performance, not just an ability torattle off a blizzard of notes. The music is challengingtechnically, to be sure, but not at the level of say, Weber’sConcertino or Cherubini’s Second Sonata, to mention twoworks of roughly contemporary vintage. What puts Nilsennearly in a class by himself is how he goes beyond technicalmastery to engage the listener with utter conviction, muchlike Heifetz on the violin or Horowitz on the piano. Hismusicianship transcends horn playing and enters the realm ofpure music. He sings into the instrument as I have heard fewothers do. Every note has meaning—spirited, joyful,reflective, or yearning as required.

Three substantial sonatas written between 1804 and 1812make up Nilsen’s program. None is a recording premiere; infact, all have enjoyed multiple fine recordings by the likes ofBarry Tuckwell, Ifor James, Michael Thompson, Louis-Philippe Marsolais, and others. As far as I know, only Nilsenhas recorded the Danzi Sonata (a favorite among hornplayers) on the natural horn. The sonata by the Viennesenobleman and diplomat Nikolaus von Krufft (among otherthings, he took part in the campaign against Napoleon in1815) is perhaps the finest of the three, with a slowmovement that might have been transcribed from a lost earlyChopin nocturne or an operatic aria, and a finale in thepolacca style popular in the age.

I refer the reader to Fanfare 34:5 for a description of thetrials and tribulations of playing—and listening to—thenatural horn. Suffice it to say here that Nilsen is sopersuasive a musician that the listener can almost overlookthe instrument’s manifold limitations: many notes are blattyor fuzzy at high volume level, necessarily partly or fullyhand-stopped, and off-pitch.

Kristin Fossheim’s fortepiano playing is on an equal level ofNilsen’s expressivity, and her role is by no means one ofmere accompaniment. There is much dialogue between thetwo instruments. Again, one hears not so much theinstrument itself but simply pure music: a perfect partnership

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indeed. Her instrument is a copy of a Walter (Vienna, 1805),made by Kenneth Bakeman in 1983. The horn is a copy of aLausmann from Bohemia, c. 1800, made by AndreasJungwirth in 2000. A splendidly radiant recording acousticand a thoughtful, if somewhat fanciful, essay by AnetteNaumann, linking the horn to the world of earlyRomanticism, add to the luster of this release.

I end with a self-quote from the aforementioned Stobartreview: “Natural-horn aficionados can be assured ofoutstanding performances from both soloist and pianist;curiosity-seekers are well advised to give it a try, if for noother reason than to be astounded at what can beaccomplished by a master of this fiendishly difficultinstrument. I truly doubt that Beethoven, or any of hiscolleagues, heard their works played with such assurance andtechnical perfection as we have on display here.” RobertMarkow