Before Mozart, Early Horn Concertos – Alec Frank-Gemmill

   in Classical Music (May, 2018)
This disc of horn concertos before Mozart may well be something of an eye-opener. The Christoph Förster (1693-1745) concerto was previously recorded by Tuckwell, yet Frank-Gemmill is more subtle. The Telemann is a delightful piece, its slow movement featuring a solo violin as well as solo horn. In the outer movements, Frank- Gemmill’s articulation is spot-on. Here it is Hermann Baumann who provides the main competition; and again, Frank-Gemmill is preferable in his assured stylishness.

The Neruda concerto is rarer, its super high clarino solo line played with spellbinding control here. It is nice to hear Leopold Mozart’s Sinfonia da Camera with the strings one to a part, giving it a …