Recording of the Month

Mozart: Horn Concertos
Alec Frank-Gemmill, B-flat horn; Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan, cond.
BIS-2635 (reviewed in native 24/96). 2024. Thore Brinkmann, prod.; Brinkmann, Håkan Ekman, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½

When I recollect the soundtrack to my acid-tinged summer of 1967, several LPs stand out: The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's you-know-what, The Rolling Stones' Their Satanic Majesties, Richie Havens's Mixed Bag, and Dennis Brain's equally famed recording of the Mozart Horn Concertos, with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan. Though all of them sounded potent and execrable, in equal parts, through our starving–ex-student record players, neither the Mozart's monophonic provenance nor the too-distant sound of Brain's horn could diminish the joy it brought me.

That summer, the only thing that could carry me away from the joyfest of the Horn Concertos was the acid. I recall a particularly memorable heat-of-summer trip in Carbondale, Illinois, at the start of which, after everyone else in the house had drifted into their separate universes, I remained indoors, glued to the sound of Brain's horn. Not for much longer than 25 minutes, however. I got as far as scribbling, "The world is emanating Mozart" on a piece of paper before away I went, no longer able to hold onto pen, paper, or Mozart.

How wonderful it is to revisit these tuneful, often jolly concertos played by a superb horn virtuoso, Alec Frank-Gemill, backed by the Swedish Chamber Orchestra conducted by one of the world's most distinguished period-practice authorities, Nicholas McGegan. Frank-Gemill's mastery is complete, extending to his improvised cadenzas and lead-ins. The sound of his modern Alexander 90 Single B-flat horn is superbly captured by Thore Brinkmann of Take5 Music Production, who perfectly blends the horn's distinctive, distant mellowness with the resonance of its gold-brass body.

Even if the marriage of horn, engineering, and the acoustic of Sweden's Örebro Concert Hall were not as ideal as it is here, Frank-Gemill's choice of tempos and McGegan's rare ability to coax a period-aware sound from the Swedish Chamber Orchestra would propel this recording to the top of the pile. The orchestra's strings in particular stand out for their translucent beauty and watery flow. It's hard to think of another recording of these concertos in which Mozart's music flows as easily, gracefully, and tunefully as it does here.

In an email exchange, McGegan explained that while the SCO is not a period instrument group, "individual players do have period instruments at home and often are members of old instrument chamber groups on the side. Frank-Gemill was a member of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, which, when performing 18th-century music, usually uses natural horns and trumpets alongside modern strings. Sometimes SCO's violinists use baroque bows," although not in this recording. In short, while the instruments and pitch (A=440/441) are modern, the feel is what we currently believe to be authentic to Mozart's time.

McGegan revealed that he and Frank-Gemill previously worked with the SCO on a recording that included Cimerosa's Il Maestro di Capella. The two men also recorded another CD with the Haydn Horn Concerto and some more Baroque repertoire. Frank-Gemill specifically chose McGegan to conduct this recording due to their simpatico relationship.

The Horn Concertos are the Mozart equivalent of tangerine trees and marmalade skies: fresh, rounded, spirited, and bursting with life. The galloping, joyful Rondo finales of the three concertos in E-flat major (Nos. 2–4) are prime earworm material. The 2nd's close is particularly memorable. Note how easily Frank-Gemill retains his sound's estimable smoothness as he takes the 4th's final Rondo at a vivid clip. Whether you choose to drop in or zone out, the cumulative effects of these closing movements linger long in memory.

The recording includes a few noteworthy adjustments to Concerto No.1 in D major, which, despite its numerical designation, is the last horn concerto Mozart began. At the time of his death, in 1791, only the first movement Allegro was complete; the concerto form's customary middle-movement Adagio was never begun. In its stead, Frank-Gemill and Stephen Roberts borrow, arrange, and orchestrate the lovely Andante from the Violin Concerto K.211 of 1775, whose innate grace and beauty make for a gratifying addition. Roberts, in turn, completes the final movement, which Mozart left unfinished. Unorthodox, perhaps, but musically fulfilling.

Everyone will have their favorite moments and movements in these concertos. In Frank-Gemill and McGegan's hands, the second Concerto's Andante feels like bathing in moonlight on a warm summer's eve, and the third's middle movement Romance reminds me of a perfect smile that impels us to smile in return. The opening Allegro maestoso of the 4th Concerto, complete with a short, delightful reference to Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, summons forth memories of a sunny greeting from an old friend, and its second movement evokes images of a lovely carriage ride through the countryside in springtime. What's not to love.

As a bonus, Roberts stitches together two resurrected/reconstructed movements from Mozart's first, unfinished horn concerto into a new "Horn Concerto No.0." This music may not be cut from the same cloth as the other concertos, but it gives Frank-Gemill more opportunities to demonstrate his artistry, and you one more reason to spend some time immersed in this splendid, joyful music.—Jason Victor Serinus