by Ian Zook

Volume 19—Howard T. Howard  

For this installment of Horn on Record, we will be listening to obscure (and very piano-oriented) chamber quintets, one each by Friedrich Kalkbrenner and Louis Spohr. Hornist Howard T. Howard is joined by New York City freelancers on a recording from 1972 on the Turnabout label.

Howard T. Howard (1936-2021) was a Principal Horn of the orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera from 1962-2007. He was born in Beatrice, Nebraska, and he took up the horn at age fourteen after relocating to Billings, Montana. He attended the University of Michigan, graduating in 1958 with a degree in music education before enlisting in the United States Air Force. He had a short tenure as Principal Horn of the Toledo Symphony, and then moved to New York to pursue his music career. While substitute teaching elementary school, he won a position with the MET Orchestra and was appointed principal horn in 1962. He shared co-principal duties with Clarendon Van Norman until 1985, and then with Julie Landsman from 1985 until his retirement.

Julie Landsman credits Howard as her first teacher, instructing her through her middle- and high-school years. When she joined him in the MET Orchestra, she recalls his favorite repertoire being the Mozart operas, Handel’s Giulio Cesare, and Strauss’ Rosenkavalier. He was known for his sensitivity in blending tone and phrase, and for his love for the orchestra and his enjoyment of performing through his final 46th season in the section. He was also active in the Newport Classical Chamber Series, frequently sailing his restored Herreshoff S-Class yacht to Rhode Island as well as around Long Island Sound.

Friedrich Kalkbrenner’s Grand Quintet, Op. 81 for piano, clarinet, horn, cello, and bass was composed in 1827. Kalkbrenner, German by nationality, settled in Paris where he gained fame as a pianist of exceptional virtuosity, worked at the Pleyel piano company and also oversaw a music school. He was the most sought-after and highly paid concert pianist from 1824-1833 but was eclipsed by both Chopin and Liszt whose music and performance styles reflected the burgeoning Romantic era. 

The second movement, Andante quasi adagio, presents Howard taking the melodic role. He spins forth a Mozartean line supported by clarinet and strings and then has a short dialogue with the piano.

In the following Rondo, resplendent with dazzling piano lines, the horn answers the piano theme. Howard easily moves from the solo voice to a supporting harmonic and rhythmic chamber partner.

Louis Spohr also composed his Quintet, Op. 52 for piano, flute, clarinet, horn and bassoon in the same timeframe as Kalkbrenner, the early 1820’s. Spohr was a dominant figure on European concert stages as a violinist, composer, and conductor. Also written to feature the piano, Spohr’s Quintet does employ the winds more prominently.

In the opening moments of the first movement, Allegro, Howard shapes a beautiful line with soloistic portamento, melding seamlessly with the clarinet and bassoon.

The contrasting theme in the second movement has a flowing, cantabile shape. Howard’s smooth, pulsing articulation and suave solo conjures the operas of Verdi and Puccini, a style he would have perfected with his career at the MET.

Both works seem to have fallen out of favor for chamber music programming. Perhaps this is due to their pianistic demands, or simply that they linger in the shadow of the prominent works for piano and winds by Mozart and Beethoven. Thankfully we have these renditions, the only chamber music recording credited to Howard T. Howard, to inspire those looking for different options in this genre.

Thank you for reading Horn on Record!

by Katy Carnaggio

The numbers don't lie: curiosity can boost information retention by over 30%,* helping you learn pieces more quickly and effectively.

But when our next performance is just around the corner, urgency can often flip curiosity into self-criticism, creating a barrier that feels more like wrestling with our shadows than refining our performance.

Imagine a typical practice session:

That run wasn’t clean….
I missed that note….
That was out of tune….

These observations may be factual, but they're also criticisms focused on what you don't want. When you catch yourself focusing on things to fix, take a brief pause. Exhale any tension, then start asking questions:

How can I make this smooth and fluid?
How can I get a better sense of that note?
What reminds me of a warm, centered sound here?

This shift not only feels much better, but it can also fast-track your improvement and make your performance more captivating.

Urgency itself isn't the issue—it's a wonderful motivator that can channel us into deep, focused practice. Allow that urgency to drive you to do the work. By pairing it with a mindset focused on possibilities rather than flaws, you empower yourself to walk onstage fully prepared—not just to perform, but to share and celebrate the nuances of the music you love!

*Based on research published in Neuron by Gruber, Gelman, and Ranganath (2014).

by Inman Hebert

For horn students, by mid-semester, playing obligations can seem never-ending. Between ensemble concerts, solo work, and chamber music (let alone any gigs, extracurricular playing, or marching band), rehearsals and performances can become an endless cycle of preparation and fatigue. Somehow, through this constant stream of playing, we are expected to have the endurance to practice in addition to the numerous other hours of face-time. Due to the taxing physical demands of horn playing, which often become more exacting as students enter performance-based careers, developing and maintaining proper endurance habits is crucial to positive perseverance.

A major endurance-related misconception contends that as students play more, their endurance will naturally develop alongside greater demands. The claim, however, oversimplifies the numerous factors which determine a student’s physical endurance. If we see endurance development as simply pushing ourselves for more time every day, then we risk developing poor habits that, in fact, hurt endurance-related pursuits later. Understanding the causes of poor endurance while practicing proper playing habits is critical to a more intelligent approach to endurance development.

Without a well-developed breathing technique, the ability to play a long time without rest will remain elusive. In connecting breath support to endurance, we must return to the fundamentals. Is our breathing shallow? Are facial muscles or shoulders tense on inhalation? Are the arms collapsed against the rib cage (which limits capacity and support)? Is the release of airflow steady? Relaxing keeps the airways open and allows for deeper breathing. Tension in all the wrong places inhibits the development of endurance.

Fortunately, doing exercises, both airflow-related and physical, can help our breathing technique and improve stamina. Breathing exercises often involve practicing inhaling and exhaling at various speeds to help us produce a steady stream of air. Standing close to the wall, is the airflow consistent so that a piece of paper remains in position until the exhalation stops? These practices teach us to take in as much air in one second as in four or to control the expiration rate. Air pressure management can help the hornist learn how to harness a small amount of fast-moving air for the high range and a more significant amount of slower-moving air for the low range. As an added benefit, these exercises alleviate stress and reduce tension. In recognizing the importance of airflow in endurance, students can work with mentors and review the abundance of resources to improve their breath support.

Additionally, cardiovascular exercise aids breathing and, in turn, improves stamina. Aerobic workouts attune us to our breathing muscles and train us to take quicker, more efficient breaths. In addition, physical activity such as running or biking also lowers our resting heart rate over time, which can help us calm ourselves more quickly before a performance and reduce the tension that affects our breathing. Incorporating anaerobic training, such as strengthening our core muscles, supports good posture, and this opens up breathing technique and helps prevent fatigue.

As tension inhibits effective breath support and, subsequently, endurance, excessive mouthpiece pressure restricts blood flow to the lips and contributes to limited endurance. A periodic reexamination of the embouchure warrants attention. Is the mouthpiece pressure distributed appropriately between the upper and lower lips? Is the mouthpiece being pushed in some inhibiting direction? In identifying solutions, students should revisit fundamental aspects of horn playing to help identify the reasons behind the pressure and work on eliminating them. We should strive for as relaxed an embouchure as possible, one that leaves only a slight mark on the lips.

While excessive mouthpiece pressure hinders circulation, proper warmups facilitate blood flow to the facial muscles. Horn players' warmups vary widely in length and composition, but instead of heading straight for the high notes, a student should focus on a productive warmup that activates all aspects of playing and helps prevent injury. Moreover, after practice, a warm-down prevents stiffness in the lips and preserves the embouchure for the next day.

After achieving proper breath support and appropriate mouthpiece pressure, the idea that endurance comes with consistent, focused practice becomes true. Three hours of daily practice spread out over a day becomes the standard of effort. However, in embracing the three-hour standard, how do students create a balance that does not overwork facial muscles in their busy playing schedules of rehearsals and concerts in addition to individual practice? One practical approach counts a lesson, rehearsal, or concert as one of those three sessions, while ensuring that the other sessions of the day are separated by a significant time margin to allow the facial muscles time for recovery. While time invested matters, improvement comes from using a methodical approach and not overworking yourself. Thoughtful practice is the key to improved stamina.

Building endurance evades simple answers but, rather, creates an interconnected web; however, if we set aside pride, assess fundamentals, and seek to understand the different components of stamina, we can work, with discipline and intelligence, to yield better results. Progress may be gradual and, at first, resemble a roller coaster rather than a straight ascent, but the satisfaction will be worthwhile when walking onto the stage confident in our endurance.

by Vidhurinda Samaraweera

Issues

Papara music is closely associated with religious, cultural, and sporting events—gatherings such as parades, parties, games of cricket or rugby, and so on. One could even label Papara as social dance music simply because of the one function it is kept alive to serve: the entertainment of the masses. While Papara bands have become an indispensable component in social gatherings, this has proved to be a double-edged sword. It is the main reason why Papara is not perceived as an explicit style of music, let alone a distinct genre. No one listens to Papara the same way they listen to other genres (such as classical, funk, rock, pop, or jazz) because it is generally perceived as being too noisy, out of tune, raw, unrefined, or irritating. Since there is no demand for Papara outside certain social gatherings, players of Papara music have no incentive to practice their instruments much or refine their craft. It is a maddening catch-22. Papara bands, much like wedding bands, are stuck with the same repertoire of popular tunes which they play endlessly. Most Papara musicians are forced into playing the way they do now since it seems like the only economically viable way. As a stand-alone industry, Papara is not very lucrative unless players are more versatile and able to meet the greater demands of clients.      

The Way Forward

Banda music, Afro-Cuban jazz, and salsa are great examples of traditional ethnic music from different parts of the globe. One can recognise them as soon as the music is turned on. These traditional styles of music give their countries of origin a unique identity which the locals can truly be proud of, and, of course, hold dear and enjoy. However, from a Sri Lankan’s perspective, Papara is far from this. My friend and colleague Nuwan Gunawardhana, associate principal trombonist of the Gustav Mahler Orchestra, is an avid reader and researcher on ethnomusicology. One of his passions is to uplift Papara music and musicians in Sri Lanka. He believes that Papara, as much as any other established ethno-music genre in the world, has the potential to take the world by storm with proper artistic direction. While experimenting with Papara and working on improvements and alterations which can be made, he remains careful not to make Papara something which it is not, thus preserving its true essence.

Nuwan Gunawardhana—Associate Principal Trombone of the Gustav Mahler Orchestra, and member and arranger for the A Team Horns Sri Lanka

From a musical standpoint, the fact that Papara has not undergone any evolutionary process has to be addressed. The repertoire has remained stagnant, and even the players do not have any incentive to practice, research, or bring new elements to the table. Nuwan conducted research twice: once in 2023 and again in September 2024. He gathered several musicians from various backgrounds—from Classical orchestras, jazz ensembles, pop bands, and contemporary artists—in a recording studio to experiment with the possibilities of incorporating improvisation as a tool in Papara. A popular tune, the Sinhalese adaptation of Luna Mezza Mare, was selected as the piece for the first experiment. I had the good fortune of being part of that ensemble as the only French horn player. My role mainly revolved around maintaining steady rhythm with the saxophonist and the Papara percussionists. I was given the freedom to exchange harmony lines with the saxophonist. All the horn players including trumpets, saxophone, and French horn, were given the chance to improvise within the bounds of the arrangement, and we let our imaginations go. There was a special guest who joined us from the United States of America, a contemporary trombonist named Brian Allen. He was able to add so much color to the experimental piece, particularly through his improvisation. We found that improvisation is an ideal device to make Papara more interesting for the listener and the musicians without destroying its essence.

Team behind the first Papara Research	Tuba, horn, and saxophone in action

For more in-depth information on the initial project, please watch: Ha Papara Mary | හා පපර මේරි - YouTube

The second research project, from just two months ago, took a different turn. In the previous meeting, actual Papara horn players were not involved. This time, two Papara trumpeters joined the ensemble along with a professional trumpeter from the United States of America named Joe Motter who currently resides in Japan. He played lead trumpet, and the Papara musicians learned techniques they did not know existed, finding his playing inspirational. They admitted that if they were exposed more to quality players and high standards that it would be a great incentive to practice more and discover more about the instruments they played. Both the local Papara trumpeters mentioned they had only seen or heard such playing on social media such as YouTube. It was a surreal experience for them.

Joe Motter (left) and the Papara trumpeters

Most of the capable brass and wind players in Sri Lanka are condensed in the Classical orchestras in Colombo. Almost all Classical musicians perceive Papara musicians as inferior, and this has further aggravated the catch-22 situation I had previously mentioned. All the musicians, both local and foreign, who participated in these research projects unanimously agreed that Papara, if done right, has the potential of becoming a stand-alone genre unique to Sri Lanka. I personally feel that more experiments and research, with a view toward improving Papara, need to be supported and conducted for it to evolve and blossom as part of Sri Lanka’s cultural identity. If you would like to know more about this fascinating style of music, please reach out to me at vidhurindasamaraweera@gmail.com .

Look for Part 3 of this series, A Social Experiment on Papara Music in Sri Lanka with a Live Audience, in the next edition of Horn and More.

by Layne Anspach

Hello musicians!

This month, we will look at Hans Huber’s Quintet for Piano and Winds, Op. 136. Hans Huber (1852-1921) was a Swiss composer and pianist. He studied at the Leipzig Conservatory before returning to Switzerland. Huber was a church organist, choir director, and teacher, in addition to composing and performing as a pianist. Unlike many of his Swiss contemporaries, he did not restrict himself to the genres for which he wrote but composed in a variety of styles: staged works, masses, symphonies, concerti, and chamber music.

Like the quintets introduced in the previous few months, Huber’s work is scored for piano, flute, clarinet, horn, and bassoon. The quintet was written near the end of his life in the mid- to late-1910s. The sonata-form first movement, Adagio con intimo sentimento, begins with clarinet before passing thematic material to other winds with piano accompaniment. After the A theme is exchanged, the section transitions with winds alone into L’istesso tempo, ma molto leggiero, the B theme. Less somber than the A theme, B is light and jaunty, shifting to 12|8 from the original 4|4. The development is drawn out, alternating fragments of the A and B themes before finally settling into the recap, and the movement comes to a peaceful conclusion.

The second movement, Scherzo. Allegrissimo, follows a typical ABA form. Full of vigor, the A section theme passes quickly between winds and keeps the pianist quite busy as well. The B section starts calmly but builds with energy and chaos before returning to the A section to conclude. In movement III, Intermezzo. Allegro con fuoco, the clarinet is heard intermittently alone throughout. The movement moves from calm and delightful to agitated and intense, concluding with an energetic presto.

Finale. Allegro moderato starts with horn and piano. After the clarinet states the melody, the texture opens up to include all voices. The movement is full of ebb-and-flow as Huber passes the primary theme between instruments, experiments with textures, and shifts keys. The movement consistently returns from energetic passages to the theme in a solo voice, often the clarinet. Huber revisits themes from previous movements as well. I recommend listening to the ten-minute movement in its entirety to hear the way Huber moves between all the different ideas.

The reference recording is from the album Hans Huber: Quintett und Sextett für Bläser und Klavier (Musiques Suisses). The hornist on the album is Olivier Darbellay.

em português

by Ricardo Matosinhos

The CD Hornscapes presents several pieces which showcase different possibilities of both horn and Wagner tuba. All the pieces were composed by horn players, “native speakers” of the horn player’s idiom. The concept of idiomatic horn writing is always present when I compose for the horn, and my doctoral research was, in fact, focused on this subject.

Following Douglas Hill’s idea of the Call to Action in his excellent book Collected Thoughts, we, as horn players, have a responsibility to encourage composers to write for our instruments. Even better, we should compose for our instrument ourselves, so that composers may take note of our capabilities and preferences.

I know that you might be thinking, “But I’ve never composed for the horn.” Yet, as a horn player, you know the instrument better than any composer, and that’s a significant advantage. The International Horn Society is currently running a composition contest until December 1st, making this the perfect opportunity for you to create a solo piece for the Featured Division. This piece can be performed by students and amateurs, but should also have enough musical integrity to honor professional performances.

This may seem like a daunting task for any composer, but it’s much easier for a horn player. Trust me, I don’t have a degree in composition, yet my works have fans worldwide and have been performed across the globe. So, I challenge you to compose a solo piece for our beloved horn!

With the release of this CD for horn (and Wagner tuba) and piano, I decided to create a small online contest for the recipients of Horn and More, the Newsletter of the International Horn Society. I’ve already offered two CDs in the September edition and another two in the October edition. But if you weren’t fast enough, there’s still a chance! I will be offering a final two CDs to the first two people who correctly answer the provided questions in the November editions.

If you were one of the winners of the September or October editions, you can still compete. However, if you place in the top two again, I will give the CD to the next person on the list.

Have fun, and good luck!

Click here to participate

Ein Waldhorn Lustig

by Drs. William Stowman and Mike Harcrow, Messiah University

One of the most attractive techniques possible on a brass instrument is a beautiful, clean slur. The hornist, most frequently reading music written in the third and fourth octaves of the instrument’s harmonic series, often has the obstacle of intervening harmonics to overcome in slurring. In addition, rotor valves are set in a large number of possible arrays, some opening in the direction of the rotor port and some opening toward the airflow—or even a combination of these, depending on the brand and wrap. This has the effect of either smoothly directing (moving with) or slicing (moving against) the airstream; and some fingering patterns, like cross fingerings, seem to amplify the effect so that valve slurs can pop or flare without intentionally-practiced control.

Bumpy slurs, whether overworked, slotted lip slurs or the slurs adversely affected by valve configurations, result in sounds similar to playing a fretted string instrument, like a guitar, while what we all want are fretless slurs such as those which a can be produced on a cello or violin.

The harmonic series is the source of lip slurs, and we find more success with it, particularly its extremes, if we imagine it as horizontal rather than vertical. It is also a scale, the scale of the tube length through which its pitches vibrate; notes outside a harmonic series can only be played using some special mechanism (like a piston or rotor) or technique (like hand stopping on the horn). Blowing through the harmonic series can be imagined as knocking down dominoes so that you blow farther rather than tensing in an ascent or sagging in a descent. (This last concept is also excellent for building range, both higher and lower.)

We encounter lip slurs in virtually every piece of music we perform. The tendency, if one is conscientious, is to develop clean lip slurs; yet these can sometimes still sound distinct, almost tongued. Many players, then, learn to incorporate portamento (a smooth, sliding connection) between slurred notes, especially if the pitches are close together. This must be practiced on both lip and valve slurs in order to learn how to balance technique (how the lips move) and timing (when the lips move): too late and the slur is not smooth but abrupt; too slow and the intended portamento can turn into a glissando (see Robin Hahn’s brief explanation of these as separate and distinct vocal techniques), particularly when slurred intervals are larger. The slurred note which simply materializes from the note of departure is ideal. Within the sound you are playing, that next note is already in the room—existing as an overtone, but also audiated—waiting to be found.

Portamento should also be applied to valve slurs. Just as a trombonist must consider how and when to execute slurs which move with the slide motion vs. those which move against it, those performing on valved instruments must be attentive to these same concerns. Valve movement can, in many cases, add to the smoothness of the slur when, for example, using a longer fingering to slur upward to a note on a shorter fingering or vice versa. (In-tune alternate fingerings may certainly be utilized to enhance portamento, and an alternate fingering can be applied to what would normally be a lip slur as well.) Yet the lips are still engaged in the process; the evidence for this is quickly confirmed when buzzing a passage since the mouthpiece alone is “fretless.”

Portamento, for many players, is easier to accomplish on upward slurs, but it should be practiced on downward slurs as well. “Hard landings” on downward slurs are the equivalent of bumping into arrival notes on upward slurs. Renowned trumpet pedagogue Keith Johnson (1942-2020), known for his do-less-get-more approach to teaching, told students that slurring is simply playing one note and then playing the next without tonguing it.

In fast technical passages, portamento is less of a concern. Smooth, brilliant technique, slurred or otherwise, is much more a matter of energized and intensifying airflow. For lyrical passages, however, any flaw in production may be noticed by the listener. Horn players are notorious for relying on “wa-wa” articulations as a safety or coping mechanism (so much so that many electronic horn sounds have included this unfortunate effect). The portamento should not include this; when well-performed, it cannot, since consistent airflow is required for the connection.

Some practice techniques for developing portamento include [1] slow, deliberate movement between progressively widening slurred intervals, [2] buzzing slurs with no loss of energy on what is in-between notes to eliminate individual note shaping, [3] practicing timing and control in both lip and valve slurs for greater elasticity in lyrical passages, [4] making large intervals more “user-friendly” by seeing them as small ones (trumpeter Allen Vizzutti is a master of this concept), and [5] reversing articulations in practice, i.e. tonguing slurred passages and slurring tongued passages. Additionally, find models to emulate—and not just horn players. Great vocalists and string players can be wonderful sources for study. Last, record yourself regularly and evaluate your progress in creating captivating, singing slurs.

For nearly 20 years, Bill Stowman and Mike Harcrow have been working together leading the Brass Department at Messiah University in south-central Pennsylvania. Sharing their differing backgrounds and concepts has led to a comprehensive yet cohesive approach to brass pedagogy, and a high percentage of their graduates go on to pursue advanced degrees in music and professional playing careers. A highlight of their collaboration was the release of their Brass Department CD Luminosity, which—in addition to some 20th-century brass ensemble standards and the outstanding commissioned title track by James Stephenson—features primarily works of Giovanni Gabrieli. Enjoy this sample track from that recording.