Zwilich's Horn Concerto

Composers Datebook

Synopsis

For many professional musicians, summertime is spent away from home at one or more music camps and festivals. And if the camp or festival just happens to be in a gorgeous mountain or lakeside setting, well, so much the better.

Since 1987, musicians have made the climb to scenic Vail, Colorado, at this time of year for the Bravo! Music Festival. And on today’s date in 1993, it was at the Bravo! Festival that a new Concerto for Horn and Strings by the American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich received its premiere.

The concerto was a triple commission from the Rochester Philharmonic, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the New York-based French horn virtuoso David Jolley, who was the soloist for the Vail premiere. Zwilich wrote:

“While I think of the solo horn as a heroic figure, I enjoyed the interplay and dialogue between horn and strings and allowed the character and nature of the horn to influence the strings and vice-versa. For me, the combination of solo horn and string orchestra is rich and evocative, as is the unique nature of the horn: its warmth and color, its dramatic legato as well as its pungent staccato, the sheer breadth of its sound.”

Music Played in Today's Program

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (b. 1939): Horn Concert; David Jolley, horn; MSU Symphony Orchestra; Leon Gregorian, conductor; Koch 7487