Volume 5 - Othmar Schoeck Horn Concerto recorded by Jósef Brejza
Logo by Martha Blanks
Our next Horn on Record entry explores a lesser-known Concerto for Horn by Swiss composer Othmar Schoeck recorded by the venerable Polish hornist Jósef Brejza.
This album, featuring Othmar Schoeck’s Concerto for Horn and Strings, Op. 65, was released in 1969 by Jósef Brejza and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and is the first recording of this concerto. It has since been recorded by artists including Hermann Baumann, Bruno Schneider, and Marie Luise Neunecker. For an interesting history on the genesis of Schoeck’s concerto and it’s dedicatee Willi Aebi, check out this history furnished by Herman Baumann.
Jósef Brezja was born 1936 in Kończyce Małe near Cieszyn, Poland. After early experiences learning horn in a military brass band, he joined the Silesian Philharmonic as first horn and studied at the Academy of Music in Katowice with Adam Przybyła. Soon after graduating in 1957, he joined the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra as solo horn where he performed between 1959-1962.
He was a laureate of many international music competitions, including the Geneva, Moscow, and Prague Spring competitions. Following his competition success in Geneva, he began playing with the Basel Symphony Orchestra and studying natural horn at the Basel Conservatory. Brejza decided to end his tenure with the orchestras in Poland and relocated permanently to Switzerland. There he performed for the entirety of his career in as a first horn in the Basel Symphony Orchestra. Brejza also premiered many works including Wojciech Kilar’s Sonata for Horn and Piano, Armin Schibler's Prologue, Introduction et Danse, Willie Jeess's Concerto and the Musik für Horn und Schlagzeugensamble by Rudolf Kelterborn. He also gave the Polish premiere of Gliere’s Horn Concerto in 1957.
Brejza taught at the Conservatory of Music in Basel from 1965-1996, and then retired from both teaching and performing in 1997.
Let’s dive into the music!
The secondary theme in Schoeck’s Concerto is chromatic and searching, relaxing away from the pompous and rhythmic spirit of the opening theme. Brejza plays with grand sustain here, pulling through the chromaticism and very subtly tapering the tonal conclusions:
Later in the closing music of the first movement, Brezja high range soars with a declamatory ending:
The Concerto’s slow movement has some sophisticated writing, and here Brejza’s unflinching dynamics obscure any subtleties in the catabile phrasing. He also chooses to play con sordino rather than the marked gestopft:
The closing Rondo is charming and effervescent music harkening to our forested horn calls, with added cheeky interjections of chromaticism! Brejza sails through the melody with tidy articulation and an enviable consistency throughout the range:
Schoeck’s Concerto closes with a seemingly melancholic melody that suddenly snaps back into our expected jaunty ending! Brejza’s most notable charateristics are on display here in his committed melodic sustain, full throated dynamics, and succinct articulation control:
We hope you enjoyed listening to the Concerto, Op. 65 by Othmar Schoeck and learning more about our horn heritage from Poland! Have any feedback or album requests? Feel free to vote for upcoming content, too!