This CD brings together four standards from the repertoire of concertos for horn played by the Czech hornist
Zdenek Tylsar.
Tylsar is an expert player, technically up to the challenges of these concertos for one of the orchestra's most temperamental and unpredictable instruments.
Tylsar has a relatively small tone by American or German standards, and slightly more vibrato than is fashionable in the West, but he is totally secure, plays with flawless intonation, and his articulations are absolutely clean. He has a strong interpretive gift and breathes life into these works, several of which can falter musically unless they are shaped by an independent imagination.
Tylsar's interpretive skill is especially apparent in
Richard Strauss' first horn concerto, written when he was 18. In a pedestrian performance, this piece can fall flat, but
Tylsar makes it glow with his subtle rubato and nuanced dynamics. He is strongly assisted by
Jirí Belohlávek's leadership of the
Prague Symphony Orchestra. The soloist and conductor approach the concerto as chamber music, with the horn as a prominent member of the ensemble.
Belohlávek's ability to bring out inner contrapuntal voices and interweave them as equals with the horn's line produces a revelatory performance. In
Strauss' second and more musically substantial concerto,
Tylsar's agility is dazzling. The sound in these two concertos is slightly distant and the soloist and orchestra lack full presence.
The sound quality improves considerably in the concerto by Franz Joseph Strauss,
Richard's father, and in
Mozart's second concerto, both accompanied by
Václav Neumann leading the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.
Tylsar's tone comes across as fuller and rounder, perhaps due to the superiority of this recording technology.
Tylsar's
Mozart is suave, stylish, and self-effacing; his primary concern is the integrity of the music fabric, rather than virtuosic display. The CD was released soon after his death in 2006 and is a fitting tribute to a hornist of the first rank.