Ever since the late 1950s, recordings of the Richard Strauss horn concertos have been over-shadowed by the famous Dennis Brain performances for EMI. Now at last comes a fully worthy successor that is in no way inferior; indeed, in terms of orchestral response and actual sound, together with the performance of the gloriously rich-toned soloist, it is superior. In the finale of the Second Concerto, soloist and conductor together create a frisson of physical excitement in the vigorous opening and closing sections, helped by the full, naturally balanced stereo recording. The close of the work is a tour de force, following some wonderfully nimble articulation from Michael Thompson in the main part of the rondo. Together they make the best of the rather prolix opening movement, but sustain the cantilena of the Andante with just the right degree of espressivo. I happen to think that the First Concerto—although more simplistic—is the finer work and in a performance like this, played with great panache, nearly as good as the Mozart concertos. Just listen to the positive opening fanfare the Andante, too, is eloquently presented by soloist and orchestra alike, and the finale is irresistably vivacious and sparkling—the coda again has splendid dash.
Both the other, modern, recordings listed above are left at the post, and the sound of the full-bodied yet clear orchestral texture, dominated by the horn, is far preferable to the ''seedy, sometimes even metallic, and very confined'' orchestral quality given by the EMI engineers to Sawallisch and the Philharmonia on the digitally remastered Brain CD, as described by AS in his review last October. The Andante for horn and piano I have not heard before: here its rich Straussian line soars out over the rather too resonant piano, to make an agreeable encore for the Second Concerto.
The Schumann comes last, as well it might. It is awkwardly written and amounts, in my view, to a fair amount of technical fuss—for it is not easy to play—about nothing very much. However Thompson despatches it with sympathy and aplomb. Returning to the finale of the Strauss Second Concerto, I want to mention the passage when the main theme returns, with the soloist suddenly joined by the orchestral horn quartet. Edward Downes creates a voluptuous thrill of Straussian richness at that moment which resonates in the memory after the performance is concluded. One irritating point must be mentioned: there are only four bands on the CD: the separate movements remain uncued.'