by Julia Burtscher

My name is Julia Burtscher, and I am the Executive Director of the International Horn Society, a position I have held since January 2019. I was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, USA, and I now live here again. I lived in Cincinnati for 14 years before my job took me for 10 years to Atlanta. In each of these cities, I have had many wonderful opportunities to play horn on an amateur level and to meet hornists who continue to be my friends.

My career has been with the North American railroad industry since 1999. I work for GE Transportation, and everything I do there revolves around proprietary software systems designed for shortline and regional railroads. These systems manage every aspect of operations, from railcar movement to communication with other railroads to capturing revenue and much more. I support our customers with the software, initiate implementation and training and troubleshooting and system testing while working internally to make sure our customers’ needs are addressed. For me, it’s all about the customers, and this translates directly into my role with the IHS as well.

Technically, I am a horn convert, having started on trumpet at age 10. I played trumpet for two years, then, as I transitioned to junior high school, I decided to switch to the horn because my two best friends played horn and I wanted to sit with them in band. Fortunately, my mom recognized that I should take lessons, and I was lucky to study with Mary Kihslinger at the University of Toledo. Ms. Kihslinger told me about the IHS, and she recommended I join, so I did. While I think I let my membership lapse for a period of time in my 20s, I have been a member for many years, and I always enjoy getting my issue of The Horn Call in the mail—and reading it cover to cover!

As Executive Director of the IHS, I view my role as “keeping the wheels on the bus and removing blockers.” Specifically, keeping the wheels on the bus is the administrative...

by Ian Zook

Volume 6—James Stagliano

This month’s Horn on Record will focus on a collection of short Russian and French pieces for horn and piano by seminal American hornist James Stagliano with Paul Ulanowsky as pianist.

This album is fascinating for both the exquisite performances and presentation of obscure gems in the repertoire, and also for the unique marketing strategy of having this album released by Pfizer Pharmaceutical Laboratories as part of their Sinequan (doxepin HCl) Collector’s Series.

Released in 1971, Stagliano’s French Horn Masterpieces was one of eleven recordings comprising The Sinequan Collector’s Series. Moreover, Stagliano was well-represented in this catalog since the series also includes his recording of the complete Mozart concerti with the Zimbler Sinfonietta, as well as the Dvořák Serenade op. 44, the Strauss Serenade op. 7, and the Thuille Sextet op. 6, all with the Boston Woodwind Quintet and Boston Wind Ensemble.

A sidebar on the gatefold album jacket outlines the medical usage of Sinequan, a name brand for doxepin hydrochloride that was a capsule available in dosages from 10 to 50 mg. It was advertised to help “relieve excessive and frequently immobilizing psychoneurotic anxiety and depression” and that it “may produce a response where other antidepressant and antianxiety agents have failed.” Are we to assume that the fine chemists and marketers at Pfizer Laboratories found the sound of the horn a soothing sonic balm for their Sinequan patients?

James Stagliano (1912-1987) was born in Italy and emigrated to the United States in 1920. His uncle, Albert J. Stagliano, was a hornist in the staff orchestra of the Detroit radio station WWJ in the early 1920s. Albert later went on to hold the positions of principal horn in the Detroit Symphony (1929-1936), the Cleveland Orchestra (1936-1937), and as a member of the NBC Symphony under Toscanini until the end of his career. Needless to say, Albert provided much guidance and tutelage for James, who himself first played as an extra musician with the Detroit Symphony at age 16. James then joined the Detroit Symphony as assistant principal horn, performing alongside his uncle during the 1930-1931 concert season.

James Stagliano’s musical career flourished. He held appointments with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (1934-1936), the Los Angeles Philharmonic (1936-1937), as a Hollywood studio player in the early 1940’s, with the Cleveland Orchestra in 1944, and, as his final destination, joining the Boston Symphony as co-principal horn alongside Willem Valkenier in 1946. When Valkenier retired in 1950, Stagliano assumed the principal chair through 1973. Altogether, he served as principal or co-principal of the Boston Symphony for twenty-seven years.

In addition to his storied orchestral career, Stagliano was active in recording with the orchestras of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Twentieth Century-Fox, Universal, Warner Brothers, United Artists, and Walt Disney motion-picture studios. As such, he played on numerous films, including Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and Fantasia. Additionally, he also gave the American radio premiere of the second Concerto by Richard Strauss at Tanglewood in 1949, the work having already been performed in 1948 by Anthony Miranda and the Little Orchestra of New York (both well after Gottfried von Freiburg’s premiere with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1943).

While this album does feature a few cornerstone repertoire choices with Dukas’ Villanelle, Poulenc’s Elegie, and Gliere’s Nocturne, this review will focus on the shorter and more obscure gems that are all truly wonderful pieces in their own right.

Feodor Akimenko, a Ukrainian composer noted as Stravinksy’s first composition teacher, gives the horn a treasure in his Melody. Stagliano presents this anthemic opening statement with a committed build to the soaring high points. Ample relaxation and elision of the notes allows the phrases to finish beautifully.

Akimenko Melody

Stagliano presents another gorgeous morsel with Russian composer Alexander Gretchaninov’s Lullaby. The use of silky, softly-lifted portamento throughout this melody lends a sense of tenderness and compassion.

Gretchaninov Lullaby

An arrangement of Faure’s Après un rêve showcases Stagliano’s well-known and delicate high range. The sonic activity of the high harmonics in his sound keeps the tone rich and complex, while his velvety articulation shapes lines without any hinderance.

Faure Après un rêve

Our last example comes from the French composer Émile Vuillermoz. While the title listed on the album jacket is simply Etude, this piece more specifically comes from the compilation arranged for horn by Edward Vuillermoz entitled Dix Pièces Mélodiques (published by Alphonse Leduc). Stagliano plays the featured stormy middle section with fleet dexterity, allowing the churning piano part to drive the tempo. As the opening melody returns, Stagliano’s smooth tone and sense of line once again impart a sense of space and timelessness. Enjoy this elegant performance of a forgotten piece.

Vuillermoz Etude

While we cannot offer any Sinequan to our readers, we hope that this foray into the performances of James Stagliano has been a cure for any nagging earworms! Thank you for reading, and as always, please visit us at Horn on Record.

by Jeff Nelsen and Katy Carnaggio

Hey everyone, how do you get better at horn?

I bet we all could write a book on etudes to try, tools to use, mouthpieces to experiment with, recordings to listen to, how many hours to practice in a day and how to space them out….

But we want to talk about a resource that often goes unnoted.

What has helped us get better at horn? beyond ANYTHING else?

People. Your horn instructor, for sure. But also, the best friend you shoot hoops with or the serendipitous encounter you have with somebody during grocery checkout or the classmates you spend Friday night listening to mind-blowing recordings with over drinks.  

“There is absolutely nothing more important in life than other people. Nothing. Not even the brilliant and impactful work you will do. Especially with your spouse, children, immediate family, and close friends—those relationships are where your deepest joy and meaning can and should come. Those relationships are what drive you to be and do your best in life.”  ~Benjamin Hardy

We are basically saying that people expand our belief about who we can be and who we want to be. Our connections ultimately inspire us to do the work to be the best version of ourselves. They give us the inspiration to spend 5 more minutes in the practice room to figure something out. They offer us another perspective when we're stuck. They give us grace when we've forgotten how (or we're just too tired) to extend it to ourselves. The people in our lives are basically like an Eye of the Tiger soundtrack playing in the background of all we do…except not in an annoying way! 

A lot of horn work is time alone in a practice room, but that doesn't mean you have to go it alone. You can build a community around you so that you can be all of who you are, try out different things, have it not work, and still be fully embraced. This is something we are both very intentional...

A passionate musician and pedagogue, Florian Dzierla has always been keen to pass on his love of music. Solo horn of the French Air Force Orchestra in Bordeaux and horn teacher at the Gradignan Conservatory, he likes to share his passion by meeting and collaborating with people in a variety of situations. A versatile artist, he is simultaneously a musician, conductor, photographer, draftsman, illustrator, and visual arts enthusiast. He and his wife, Carine, live in Bordeaux where they are raising two beautiful and very lively young children.

You can discover Florian’s universe on Facebook and on Instagram and—if you scroll down—in the first of many whimsical, colorful illustrations he will present in Horn and More.

by Arkady Shilkloper

I played in orchestras for twelve years in Moscow, and while that was a great experience, it made me want to find my own unique voice in music and in horn playing. I mostly now play music that I write or improvise—even if I’m playing a piece someone else wrote for me, I’ll put my own stamp on it.

Every horn player can find his or her own voice on the instrument. I like to have students get away from printed music, but of course telling a student to just start improvising is very unhelpful. A good starting point is to imitate, on the horn, sounds that you hear in the real world. It could be whale sounds, or car alarm sounds, or sheep, dogs, cats, wolves, trucks, screams, or anything else. The point is to make your horn sound like something else instead of trying to play notes that someone else wrote.

Another great exercise is to imitate the intonation of human speech. By “intonation” I don’t mean playing in tune, but rather the ups and downs we make with our voice as we speak. For instance, you might say, “I learned something interesting at school today.” When I say that sentence, my voice goes a little higher on the words “interesting” and “school.” Also, there is a rhythm to the words: they don’t all come out as even eighth notes—not even close. You can use pitch and rhythm on the horn to imitate that sentence or any other sentence. Start by saying what you want. Next: repeat it with your voice, but without words, just with rhythmic pitches. Now play it on your horn, in the same way. This is a way to give yourself permission to just play, without playing something that someone told you to play!

There is an interesting practice called sound painting developed by Walter Thompson. It comprises a large set of hand gestures that the Soundpainter (who is the composer/conductor) gives to the players. You can look at the gestures on the website or develop your own. Get into a group of players who...

by Eric St-Pierre

Montreal International Jazz Festival (photo: gonzai.com)

Montrealers have always had great influence in the music industry, both locally and on the international scene.

From 1929 to 1950, the New York Metropolitan Opera’s primary conductor of French repertoire was Wilfrid Pelletier, founding conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Pelletier also founded the Conservatoire de Musique et d’Art Dramatique du Québec, where many successful musicians have been trained, including Joseph Masella, principal horn in the OSM from 1943 to 1969. Fun fact: for a while, Joseph and seven of his brothers—Raphael (clarinet), Pietro (oboe), Rodolfo (bassoon), Alfred and Mario (violin), and Paul and Giulio (horn)—were all playing in the OSM at the same time!

Montréal has always been one of the hottest jazz cities in North America. During the US Prohibition of the 1920s and ’30s, Montréal was one of the few places where you could still legally buy alcohol...which made our nightclubs and cabarets flourish. Montréal’s reputation was so infamous that it was nicknamed "Sin City!" This environment helped create famous Montréal-born jazz artists like Oscar Peterson, Maynard Ferguson, and Oliver Jones. Nowadays, Montréal's International Jazz Festival is the biggest annual jazz event in the world, taking place each year in June, with over 500 indoor and outdoor shows.

1969 provided a notorious moment in Montréal’s musical history: it was during that spring that John Lennon and Yoko Ono held their famous “bed-in” protest against the Vietnam war. This is where they recorded the song Give Peace a Chance live from their bed at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel. You can still rent the mythical room, but you will have to spend a few thousand dollars a night (and even in Canadian dollars, that’s a lot)!

Over the last few years, many musicians and performers from Montréal have loomed large on the international...