Brahms & Beethoven: Music for Horn [IMPORT]

Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), Johannes Brahms (Composer), Nikolaus Von Krufft (Composer), Lowell Greer (Performer), Steven Lubin (Performer), Stephanie Chase (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Lowell Greer, Steven Lubin, Stephanie Chase
• Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Nikolaus Von Krufft
• Audio CD (September 11, 2001)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Hmf Classical Exp.
• ASIN: B00005MNIW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #40,383 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Spin on Some Familiar Favorites, January 5, 2007

By	Adam Lippold "Horn player" (Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This disc is great! There are just not enough good comments that one can make after listening to it. All of the pieces are recognizable, except for the von Kruft, which I had never heard before listening to this album.

All the pieces are played on period instruments; because of this, the album seems to have a constant sense of warmth. This is most noticeable in the Brahms piece. There are many good modern recordings, such as the one with Tuckwell, Perlman, and Ashkenazy that should be familiar, but this one has a different feel to it. When the horn comes in in the first movement there is this sound that almost gives me chills. It is so rich and smooth and soft-probably one of the most beautful sounds that I have heard on a horn recording. The rest of the piece is utterly brilliant as all three musicians blend together well; you can hear all three parts very clearly and they do not outplay one another. There is a great cohesiveness that is found here that I do not necessarily find on the Tuckwell version mentioned above. On that version, Tuckwell seems to try to be more virtuoistic than a member of a trio. This version played by Lowell Greer is possibley the best interpretation that I have ever heard.

The Beethoven sonata is also a nice inclusion. This gives the listener a new perspective on a familiar piece. Once again, there is this warmth that comes from the horn and piano molding and blending together. With this piece, it is easy to tell how free blowing the horn is. The notes, even the ones that need to be created with the hand, seem to ring from the horn with an ease that I have not heard since Dennis Brain. The tempo taken here is just right: it is not too slow and it is not too fast. The moderate tempo is extremely evident in the third movement. Don't get me wrong, I like to hear it played at break-neck speeds that show off how fast the player can play those runs, but I do not think that that speed is correct at all. Like Cerminaro, Greer lets the notes flow for themselves. They do not seem to be forced or rushed as in the version played by Tuckwell. I like how he can play really fast, but it, I think, is not necessarily right.

The von Kruft I had never heard before this disc. It is a great piece which should played more often. It is a bit longer than the Beethoven and seems to me a bit more repetitive. I think that this is so because the von Kruft employs a longer melody that seems to be more recognizable when played again. But I do like how the piece explores the melody further than Beethoven explores his own. The von Kruft is also more showy than the Beethoven. It employs more fast runs akin to more modern horn pieces. Nonetheless, a great piece.

This CD is well worth the price that you pay for it here. I think it should be included in any horn player's collection, no matter what style or period of music they like.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great performance....., November 27, 2005

By	Rajheet Sandoz (Colorado) - See all my reviews

The performance of the Brahms on the natural horn is astounding. Lowell Greer is a real master and he lets you hear things that are hidden when the Brahms Horn Trio is played on a modern valve horn. I will never hear this piece the same again, and I guess I will have to rethink my own future performances.

The Beethoven Sonata also gains new meaning and insights on the natural horn and is worth a listen.

The von Krufft is well played but not my cup of tea.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 3 Outstanding International Artists!, June 18, 2008

By	Gary D. Gardner, Music Director - See all my reviews

Brahms had a personal affinity with the "waldhorn" illustrated in an actual photo of him with the Wiener Waldhorn Verein in which he reportedly played the hunting horn. Therefore his "Horn Trio" was written with the concept of the natural horn in his mind. However, by the time of the Romantic Era, many hornists had switched over to the valved horn. So even in Brahms' lifetime hornists played his Trio on the valve horn because of its demanding virtuosity. Fortunately on this recording Lowell Greer has once again captured the magic of the more appropriate natural horn sound; the sound Brahms had in mind. In addition, Stephanie Chase demonstrates her world-class musicianship on violin with Steven Lubin on the pianoforte of Brahms' era. For unknown reasons many musicologists believe that the Adagio mesto third movement of the Trio is perhaps the saddest and most emotionally moving of all of Brahms' compositions. Although it may be unrelated, the Trio was written around the time of the death of Brahms' mother. This heart wrenching sentiment in lovingly delivered by Lubin, Chase, and Greer on this recording.

The well-known Beethoven Horn Sonata and lesser-known Krufft Sonata are also gorgeously presented by Greer and Lubin on this recording. It is interesting to note that Lowell Greer uses three different era-specific natural horns for each of the three selections on this recording.