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This series of articles expands on notes taken by Nicholas Smith in lessons with Roland Berger in 1977.
After having worked on several slower, lyric solos I thought I would see if he was interested in hearing some Beethoven excerpts. His facial expression showed his distaste for that composer’s music. He scoffed at Beethoven and said “there was nothing to phrase in Beethoven” except for maybe the Sixth Symphony. He went on to say that Beethoven really didn’t understand our instrument and that his writing for us was unidiomatic. He said he used a Paxman F, hi f descant for most of Beethoven’s works because that horn had rotary valves which have a faster action and, with the security of the Hi F Horn, makes Beethoven much less of a worry.
Berger seemed pleased when I turned to the Tschaikowsky 5th slow movement solo and commented that the tempo at the beginning of the solo shouldn’t be too slow and that the third eighth note of each fourth beat should be tongued throughout the solo. The first four bars of the solo shouldn’t have a whole lot of shape. However, pressure should be given to the downbeats, but with a very legato tongue. Bar 11 is more detached in articulation with an emphasis on the eighth notes in beats 2 and 4. Starting in bar 13, the tempo picks up and should be played a little louder than the opening in a way that says “Here I am!” In measure 15, the first two beats should be very quick with beats 3 and 4 much slower and you can take a breath before the last eighth note of the bar with the retard going into the first two beats of bar 16. He felt that the first two beats of bar 16 need to be louder than how most Americans play it. The pick-up to bar 17 is then played much softer and in tempo. Also there should be no breath in bar 17 unless it is absolutely needed. You should take a breath in bar 18 before the fourth beat (a big one) to prepare for an “enormously louder down-beat and somewhat marcato accents on the duple in bar 20. Then play the eighth notes of the second and third beats slower, picking up the speed to A tempo by the 4th beat. On this upward run Berger wanted the dynamic to be mezzo forte and not piano as is the more American style. Bars 21 and 22 are played like bars 17 and 18 with bar 23 played like bar 11. The con moto should be played much softer and in a slightly faster tempo. There should be no retard or sostenuto on the last two measures and only a slight crescendo.
Horn 1 Solo from the 2nd Mvt. of the 5th Symphony, by Tschaikowsky
The series continues, with the next installment focusing on Ein Heldenleben
