Jacek Muzyk; Daniel Kerdelewicz; Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta - The Golden Age of the Horn: Concertos for Two Horns (Franz Anton Hoffmeister; Leopold Mozart; Frantisek Xaver Pokorny; Friedrich Witt)

The 18th century established the horn as a solo instrument, with virtuoso players commissioning concertos throughout Europe. The technical demands required to play hand-stopped instruments meant that many such concertos have not surfaced until recently. An exact contemporary of Beethoven, Friedrich Witt makes athletic use of the horn's range in his Concerto in F major, which is also a feature of the cat-and-mouse interplay in Hoffmeister's Concerto No. 3 in E flat. Expressive lyricism is present in such works as Leopold Mozart's elegant and refined Concerto for Two Horns in E flat major, while the graceful Larghetto in Pokorny's Concerto for Two Horns in F major is framed by two exuberant outer movements.