Romances for Horn and Piano-Camille Saint-Saëns composed his two Romances for Horn for two of the most respected French horn players of the time: Opus 67 in E major from 1866 is dedicated to Henri Chaussier; Opus 36 in F major from 1874 waswritten for Henri Garigue. Despite the illustrious recipients they are not virtuosic showpieces but as the term Romance suggests short ?Songs without words? that fully savour the typical romantic sound of the horn.Alongside the orchestral version Saint-Saëns also prepared a piano accompaniment for chamber music performances. Due to the fact that they are not overly technically demanding the Romances are also suitable for advancedstudents.

As if looking back on his youth toward the end of his life Richard Strauss wrote a second concerto for horn and orchestra again in Eb major around sixty years after his first concerto for horn. This sublimely beautiful late work which gives no indication of the oppressive circumstances of Strauss' poor health and the Second World War was premiered in 1943 by Gottfried von Freiberg under the direction of Karl Böhm. It was not until after Strauss' death that the concerto appeared in print in London making a critical new edition on the basis of the autograph sources and performance material more than overdue. The editor Hans Pizka former principal horn of the BavarianState Opera in Munich learned first-hand about the performance tradition and genesis of the concerto as a pupil of Gottfried von Freiberg. For use in lessons and for performances the especially playable piano reduction by Johannes Umbreit is a great help. As if looking back on his youth toward the end of his life Richard Strauss wrote a second concerto for horn and orchestra again in Eb major around sixty years after his first concerto for horn. This sublimely beautiful late work which gives no indication of the oppressive circumstances of Strauss' poor health and the Second World War was premiered in 1943 by Gottfried von Freiberg under the direction of Karl Böhm. It was not until after Strauss' death that the concerto appeared in print in London making a critical new edition on the basis of the autograph sources and performance material more than overdue. The editor Hans Pizka former principal horn of the BavarianState Opera in Munich learned first-hand about the performance tradition and genesis of the concerto as a pupil of Gottfried von Freiberg. For use in lessons and for performances the especially playable piano reduction by Johannes Umbreit is a great help.