[email protected] wrote: Would this transposition apply to a Strauss piece too? As in the third horn might transpose up? Probably not. Although one ought consider every Bb horn part Strauss wrote in his long life, I would expect Strauss always to use of Bb basso.
By the way, I am just barely a contemporary of Richard Strauss. It is an interesting question how one differentiates Bb alto from Bb basso, given that some composers don't mark it. Stylistic conventions (i.e. the way everybody always plays it on recordings) provide quick answers, but sometimes one needs to decide based on the music itself. Think what the second movement of Beethoven 6 would sound like if the horns played Bb alto. But think what nOnSeNsE would result if the Bb 2nd horn part of Mozart 40th were played basso! Many years ago (when some huy named Ford was president) I overheard a rehearsal of Schubert 5th. The hornists --quite excellent grad students of a major conservatory -- were playing it Bb alto. It was to me an exciting rendition -- and very well played -- but I suspected that it would sound wrong to anyone who wasn't a horn player. I descended into the music library stacks and grabbed a score to resolve the issue, wihtout resorting to stylistic conventions. There is one place in the first movement that strongly suggests that Schubert's intrended transposition if Bb basso. Can anyone identify it? I'll post the answer in a day or two -- if not, somebody remind me. The full score to Schubert's 5th in pdf can be found here: http://imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/9/9f/IMSLP24763-PMLP25688-Schubert_Symphony_5__D.485_Allegro.pdf (You might need to start at http://imslp.info and drill down to Schubert, since this site generally asks users to agree that they aren't responsible for misprints. But the score is easy to find. Every serious musician who doesn't live in a good music library should be familiar with this site!) Hint: See the end of the first movement. _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
