Sometimes melodies that are not technically difficult are very hard to phrase perfectly. This is one of those solos that put the horn player out front and every note must be a gem.
I can recall listening to an amateur orchestra's performance of Beethoven Eroica symphony, given in a nearby church. The very tricky horn trio, which comes in the third movement (I think) was given the most excruciatingly dreadful rendition by the brave players that the audience were left confused as to their own recollection of what they'd just heard and what they (on a good day) were supposed to have heard. I still have the tape, which provides enormous pleasure but not in the way intended.
Heartwarming: you really see his tension while waiting for his part and then he starts and he nails it. And at the end he smiles and his colleague compliments him. Fantastic!
I think the point is not that this is "impossibly difficult" but it framed the entire movement of that symphony, as intended by the composer. We need to remember that countless hours of VERY hard work (and dedication) went into his ability to play this solo. This essentially creates the magnificent beauty of a full symphony orchestra, in all its glory. Plus, he nailed it. Sanjosemike (no longer in CA)
@@Matthew-kb6lh As you may or may not know, California has been ruled by a very controlling political party which has not contributed to the health and welfare of their tax paying citizens. However, I have made many posts with my name over the years, sometimes political, sometimes in classical music and sometimes in physics and religion. I did not want to change my screen name. But we left CA in 2017 and have been very glad we left. You may know that CA is a very expensive place to live. That reason is enough for about 7,000 people/month leave it. I am just one of those. Thanks for asking. I don't usually disclose where we moved to. Sanjosemike (no longer in CA)
Nicely worded synopsis of why you moved from care-less California. You keep preaching brother, we (obviously) don’t know each other but am proud when states almost oppress their citizens and they find it mildly surprising that they leave in droves. Newsome certainly doesn’t get it. B T W, WELL DONE by this young player, performing quite a challenging excerpt which is still a foundational excerpt for all horn players to learn EARLY when preparing for your orchestral career. I don’t know of any orchestral or premiere military band horn audition that does not include this excerpt.
@@auscon04 Thank you for your very kind words. If existentialists are "looking" for reasons for humans to exist, they need look no further than the symphony orchestra. I am reminded of Nimrod, from Enigma Variations by Elgar. If I am privileged to hear the most beautiful music in the Universe at the time of my passing, I would say, "Actually, I have already heard it." Sanjosemike (no longer in CA)
As a trombonist I'll politely disagree with 'horn is by far the most beautiful brass instrument' part but I get ya. I've been there. You don't need to set the bar so high for yourself, just play for 5 minutes when you feel like it and enjoy it. It makes all the difference
In the age of RU-vid guitar shedding with kids just aimlessly wriggling their fingers, it's refreshing to hear music as the focus and not just notes. The oxygenating of the body is something people don't realize. Preloading the body with oxygen by deep breaths allows the player to play longer passages with control.
@@Idkwhattoputhere...306 Yes it definitely requires skill, but there are still quite a few much higher difficulty levels above it. He did quite well though
Really phenomenal performance that evokes the horn’s beauty. It is not easy to play that, especially with longer notes, all those sharps and even an enormous amount of dynamics. Playing this is easy enough, but playing it correctly, and in the way this horn player did, is far from easy. The breath control that he has is amazing, it isn’t easy to blow through that 18 ft or so of tubing through the smallest brass mouthpiece, with such an awkward way of holding the instrument and tuning with your hand in the bell as you go, all without a single crack or lost of partials or pitch. Truly impressive.
@@douwemusic Not particularly. Since flats are much more common in horn pieces, we are used to playing flats. But sharps aren't as common, besides C#, F#, G#... which are more common to play on the horn. Although, it's all opinionated, and if you think playing sharps is easy, then great! But it all depends on the person.
Beautiful plying. One of the things I miss about being in an orchestra is hearing wonderful solos like these up close and personal onstage with fellow musicians. So many videos feature bad performances as comedy entertainment, so hearing such splendid playing like this is a real treat. How could anyone be bored with music like this?
He was clearly as frightened as I was every time a piece required a solo. The difference is he mastered it and plowed through the fear, it often diminished my performance. Good on you for a perfect performance.
the result of swinging the practice hammer for all those hours . . . when the time comes, you are prepared and you *_know_* you'll nail it played french horn 6th grade to senior year high school and this clip reminds me of the small handful of very *_special_* musical performance moments I had and the *_tremendous_* amount of study, preparation and practice it took to ensure they'd be moments I'd look back on with pride and not regret
Very well done! I'm studying trumpet again after almost a 60-year hiatus. Guess I'll stop complaining about the challenges I'm facing, since I have a lot less tubing to deal with than this guy.
This caught me off guard, surprised and the timing for me to listen to it made me cry. It felt like a resolve that is fresh behind and finally coming to terms that a changed life is waiting ahead.
Piece of cake! He made it seem effortless. Beautiful piece and great job. I have been told the French Horn is one of the hardest instruments to play. I couldn’t even get a sound out of it when I tried. This guy had a wonderful sound I thought.
I had a Rossini horn solo that kicked my butt! So technically difficult that I nearly lost my feeble mind! But I loved performing this solo! So emotionally rich that I could hardly get through it with dry eyes. This performance is exquisite! Good job!
I’m working on this solo with my horn instructor right now. I think the hardest part of this is it’s key signature with a crap ton of sharps in it. Once you get the scale down, I don’t think that it is actually too difficult, and stylistically I think it is very similar to the horn solo in capriccio espanole, which I had the wonderful opportunity to play in the Nebraska all state orchestra last fall.
Quando eu era criança, na década de 1950, minha mãe cantava uma música chamada "Rosa de Maio ". Um música de sucesso na época, cantada por Francisco Alves , o " Rei do Rádio ". Alguns anos mais tarde descobri que a melodia desta música era a Quinta de Tchaikovsky, mais precisamente este solo de trompa.
Personally, one of the toughest challenges for French Horn players in the orchestra is that composers like to build on the tension before a solo part for Horn. and they like to put long notes. need a big heart, strong and steady mouth muscles, and deep breathing to put it through.
I think the difficulty comes with the phrasing. Yes notes are easy but to bring out the emotion from this passage is hard. Kudos to those who can play instruments. I can only sing haha
that solo gets in your head and can turn your brain into a mollusk!!! tried for yrs. to play it like this guy and NEVER got it anywhere near that! Great for him!
I love to listen to all levels of skills. By my ear, this guy is good but with noticeable imperfections. Oh, how I would love to have imperfections as minimal as he.
